While the retail media conversation is dominated by US and European examples, some of the most compelling growth dynamics are playing out in Latin America. Mercado Libre — the dominant e-commerce and fintech platform across the region — has built one of the most sophisticated retail media businesses outside of North America.
Mercado Libre’s Scale and Data Advantage
Mercado Libre operates the largest e-commerce marketplace in Latin America, with a presence across 18 countries and dominant positions in Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico. In Poland alone, Allegro handles more online transactions than Amazon does in the UK — Mercado Libre’s position in Latin America is comparably dominant. Its ecosystem includes the marketplace, MercadoPago (fintech), MercadoEnvios (logistics), and MercadoAds (advertising). The integration of these businesses gives Mercado Libre a data advantage that extends well beyond purchase history into payments behaviour, credit data, and logistics patterns.
The Advertising Business Trajectory
MercadoAds offers the full stack of retail media formats: sponsored product listings, display advertising, and off-site audience activation. Advertising revenue as a percentage of gross merchandise volume has been growing steadily and still has significant headroom relative to US benchmarks — suggesting a long runway of further monetisation. Scenario analysis suggests meaningful upside in mid and high-case scenarios for advertising contribution to adjusted EBITDA as GMV penetration of advertising revenue increases.
Why Global Marketers Need to Pay Attention
For consumer brands with significant Latin American exposure, Mercado Libre is not an afterthought — it’s the primary retail media platform in the region’s most important markets. Ignoring retail media on Mercado Libre is equivalent to ignoring Amazon Advertising in the US. And the opportunity is attractively priced: CPMs and CPC on the platform are lower than equivalent Western markets, reflecting the earlier stage of market development. Early movers get access to audiences at costs that will rise as competition for placement intensifies. Build the Mercado Libre relationship now.