Latin America Trends to Watch in 2024: 5 Ways Retail Media, Commerce, and AI Will Redefine the Regional Market

New York, NY, January 5, 2024 — Insider Intelligence | eMarketer announces the publication of its annual report on this year’s top advertising, commerce, and retail rends to watch in Latin America.

The 2024 edition features a treasure trove of brand-new proprietary forecast and primary research data and highlights 5 trends that principal analyst Matteo Ceurvels expects will redefine the regional market in the months ahead.

The region certainly had its challenges in 2023, but the Latin American economy is on the upswing—with digital innovation in the driver’s seat. Here are 5 trends principal analyst Matteo Ceurvels expects to redefine the regional market this year in its newly-released report.

1. First-party data’s value will soar as the cookies crumble.
—Third-party cookies have long been a cornerstone of digital advertising in Latin America, and their looming demise means that retail media—and retailers’ first-party data—will be more important than ever to advertisers.

2. Mercado Libre will dominate Latin America’s #retailmedia industry.
—As the region's largest retail ecommerce player by total sales volume, Mercado Libre’s foray into programmatic, display, and video advertising helped solidify its lead over Amazon and other local players.

3. China’s growing presence in Latin America will influence shopping habits.
—Increased investments from Chinese companies into the regional economy have diminished the US’s historically influential role as an innovation leader.
—This paradigm shift has given China a stronger foothold in swaying people’s digital behaviors in its favor, particularly when it comes to social and live commerce.

4. Companies will put AI experimentation into practice.
—Workers are feeling the pressure to use AI but are unsure how to get the most out of it. We expect companies to upskill their employees to unleash AI’s full potential.

5. A euro-style common currency will remain a pipe dream in Latin America.
—The Sur may be a nonstarter, but dollarization is on the table in Argentina. President Javier Milei campaigned on drastic change to combat the country’s myriad economic challenges, but not everyone shares his vision for a fully dollarized economy.
—These sentiments seem a bit counterintuitive, given that Argentine citizens held 11.3% of all dollar-denominated cash in circulation worldwide—the highest of any other country outside the US.