Starting product searches on Amazon isn’t as widespread as Google’s near-worldwide dominance as a general search engine, but it is common across several markets where Amazon has a significant ecommerce presence.

According to a December 2020 Cheetah Digital and Econsultancy survey of consumers in the US, UK, Australia, Spain, France, and Japan, over half (52%) felt that ads on social media sites that were based on their recent shopping experiences on other sites were “creepy,” versus 48% who felt these were “cool.”

Every tier has unlimited account statements, plus country-specific IBANs for France, Spain, Germany, and Italy. The big takeaway: The potential terms of Qonto’s new round—particularly given Tiger Global’s bullish outlook increasing the valuation—is a new sign of investors’ confidence in SMB neobanking as a lucrative market.

More intriguing than the absolute figures are the forecasts for Spain and the Nordic region. This year, Spain will have the sixth-highest rate of podcast penetration among internet users (30.0%) across the 18 markets we forecast. That will put Spain well ahead of the other major European markets, including the UK (27.9%), Italy (25.0%), Germany (24.4%), and France (22.9%).

While doubling down on its embedded finance solution puts Younited Credit in competition with the likes of Klarna and Afterpay, the booming ecommerce market in France could also present a lucrative growth opportunity.

The UK neobank’s initial markets will include France, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands. Its French expansion, first reported by Les Echos, is slated for 2022 and already includes a hiring push. The neobank made its initial BaaS entry in 2018 in its home market—and clients now include financial services companies like Raisin, MoneyBox, and CurrencyCloud.

On Tuesday, it launched three casual mobile games in Italy, Spain, and Poland, likely aimed at boosting time spent by existing members. What’s next: It’s more than just a solution to a problem: Gaming is also one of the pieces of the puzzle in Netflix’s lofty ambitions to transcend its status as a streaming company and become something of a Disney-esque media empire.

This upward revision is due in part to better-than-expected performance in Q2, when ecommerce advertising made up for the losses seen in travel-related search advertising. In terms of media ad spending growth, the US will rank eighth this year among the markets we cover, up from 24th place in our previous forecast.

Admetricks, a web service that monitors online media in Latin America and Spain, tracked weekly display ad spending before, during and after Chile’s civil protests. Pre-Crisis: In the week prior to the protests on October 14, 2019, brands had invested $5.87 million in desktop and mobile display ads. Once the social unrest erupted, advertisers started pulling their display ad dollars.

While the pandemic hasn’t boosted life insurance sales, it has increased interest among consumers: 30% of consumers across the UK, the US, and Spain said COVID-19 made them more likely to consider buying life insurance, per Swiss Re. And Google searches for life insurance have surged amid the pandemic, which could soon translate into an uptick in sales.

In the December 2020 Cheetah Digital and Econsultancy survey of consumers in the US, UK, Australia, Spain, France, and Japan, respondents evaluated brand interactions on whether they perceived them as “cool” or “creepy.” About two-thirds felt that ads that follow them across devices are creepy. In the US, 54% felt this was creepy.

Latin American ecommerce giant Mercado Libre is one example of a regional company that has embraced diversity in its marketing materials. The company’s July 2020 video ad, titled “Libre de ser quien soy” or (“Free to be who I am,” in English), reflected on how its diverse employees are empowered to bring their whole selves to work to drive innovation at the company.

With consumer prices rising across the region, search is crucial to shoppers minding their pennies. Google is also benefitting from Meta’s difficulties in the wake of Apple’s privacy-enhancing measures. That said, Facebook and Instagram remain useful for many brands—especially as social commerce is ramping up.

Wefox can profitably target new markets with high fintech adoption, like the Netherlands, as well as undertapped insurtech markets, like Spain. Since global insurtech Lemonade is pursuing a European expansion roadmap, it makes sense for wefox to prioritize scaling across Europe before Lemonade gains first-mover advantage.

Large global insurers that have partnered with Tractable include Spain-based Admiral Seguros and Japanese insurance outfit Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance in 2020. The UK insurtech also expanded existing partnerships with Japan-based Tokio Marine and French insurer Covéa last year. Insurers’ accelerated digitization amid pandemic disruption seems to have helped Tractable double its revenues in 2020.

Germany-based Finleap Connect, with offices in Italy, France, and Spain, bought MyValue Solutions.

The rest of 2020’s top 10 growth countries are all the same as before the pandemic, with the exception of Brazil, France, and Spain. France and Spain have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic, and their respective governments took early and restrictive measures to contain the virus.

The Spain-based banking giant reported in July 2020 that the pilot saved 30,000 man hours in 2019, along with more than $2 million. The RPA pilot utilized 150 intelligent bots, offered by Automation Anywhere, to automate tasks such as loan processing. XAI-based offerings enable banks to automate complex day-to-day operations.