The outlook for retail media ad spending remains bright throughout most of the world, even as ad budgets are increasingly constrained in the face of economic storm clouds.

Alibaba and JD.com embark on ambitious expansions despite challenging conditions: Both are making expensive delivery investments that could worsen China’s price wars.

JD.com challenges Meituan’s food delivery dominance: The Chinese ecommerce giant will hire 100,000 workers to help break the latter’s hold on the industry.

JD plans $27.9 billion investment in Chinese manufacturers to ease tariff impact: Ecommerce peers Alibaba and Meituan will join to help export-oriented companies attract domestic customers.

In this report, we explore the world’s top region for retail and ecommerce, Asia-Pacific. Read on for a closer look at the markets in China, India, the Philippines, and more.

Amazon Prime Day will be twice as long this year: The four-day sales event should boost sales and ad revenues, but growth will be hard to sustain long-term.

China’s deflationary spiral is expected to continue this year: A sharper-than-expected drop in prices in February underscores Chinese consumers’ extreme reluctance to spend.

JD.com’s retail sales rose 14.7% in Q4: That’s an encouraging sign for China’s retailers as they eagerly await a consumption recovery.

China’s economy faces more gloom in 2025: Sluggish consumer spending and a potential trade war will weigh on growth.

Chinese consumers kept a tight lid on spending in November: Retail sales fell short of expectations despite Singles Day promotions, pushing Beijing to promise stronger stimulus.

PDD misses expectations as competitive pressures erode price advantage: The ecommerce company expects challenges to continue in the short-term as domestic and international rivals gain an edge.

China’s retail sales ticked up in October: But mixed results from JD.com and Alibaba show that retailers still face significant headwinds.

Alibaba and JD.com tout Singles Day successes, but the data is murky: While transactions rose 27% YoY, the sale was 10 days longer than last year, making it an uncertain gauge of consumer sentiment.

Shein, Temu, and Alibaba expand their US warehouse presence: The push dovetails with the US crackdown on the de minimis loophole.

Alibaba touts early Singles Day successes: Apple, lululemon, and Nike were among the biggest beneficiaries as price-conscious shoppers took advantage of steep discounts and other promotions.

Retailers adjust China strategies to coax cost-conscious shoppers to open their wallets: Ikea and Pizza Hut will open more small-format stores to reach new customers, while H&M set up shop on Pinduoduo and Douyin.

The Asia-Pacific retail ecommerce sector is both dynamic and volatile. While China and Japan are slowing, South Korea is growing rapidly, and emerging markets like Southeast Asia and India are showing robust growth and untapped potential.

As China’s retail media advertising market begins to mature, off-site channels—including WeChat and Douyin, TikTok's sister app in China—will increasingly drive growth.

Digital, traditional, and total media ad spending growth will all accelerate in 2024, although only modestly. The outlook has stabilized for most countries and regions, even if spectacular growth is harder than ever to find.

Asia-Pacific remained a global hotspot in 2023, with six of the top 10 fastest-growing retail ecommerce markets worldwide. In particular, China's online shopping market showed signs of resiliency, with growth rates in the double digits.