Let’s see what this week’s numbers say about online advertising, shall we?

• According to The Drum, the UK’s ad market has posted record-breaking spend for 2021 and has, against all the odds, emerged from the strongest ever year for the sector with growth storming ahead by 26.4% to hit £29.7bn. This year it will cross the £30bn threshold for the first time.
• Instagram’s influencer marketing sector will grow by $8.4bn over the next three years and reach $22.2bn by 2025, according to HypeAuditor’s latest report.
• Last update on eMarketer regarding Latin American ecommerce: Mercado Libre is the clear winner in retail sales. At $13.08 billion, the company’s sales were almost as much as the other six, which had combined sales of $13.27 billion in H1 2021.
• A new research report from Smartly.io and WBR Insights, “Social Advertising Trends 2022” examines how North American brands have adapted their advertising to the current market. Key insights include increased social ad spend: 51% of advertisers spent more than half of their ad budgets on social advertising.