News in brief: Global Ad Spend to Surpass $1tn in 2024; TikTok Shop Launches in Spain; European Regulators Examine Google and Meta’s Ad Partnership 

Global Ad Spend to Surpass $1tn in 2024

Global ad spend is set to rise by 9.5% in 2024, according to a forecast by GroupM, an upward revision of their June estimate. With this growth, the ad industry is set to surpass $1tn (£783bn) for the first time this year. Unsurprisingly, the companies set to earn the most from advertising are Google, Meta, ByteDance, Amazon and Alibaba; this group is expected to earn more than half of all global ad revenue for the year. Looking further ahead, next year’s ad spend is expected to rise 7.7% in 2025.

TikTok Shop Launches in Spain

In the e-commerce sector, TikTok Shop has begun its expansion into mainland Europe by launching in Spain. The first push of its expansion into the region comes as the date set for the US’ ban – 19th January 2025 – edges closer. The video giant just lost an appeal against the ban; this week, it requested the court for an injunction which would pause the ban until the Supreme Court considers the matter. The loss of the US market would be a major hit for TikTok. In just the US last year, TikTok Shop generated over $11bn (£8.63bn) in gross merchandise value. It tripled its sales on the Black Friday just gone, making more than $100m (£78.45m) through the event. 

European Regulators Examine Google and Meta’s Ad Partnership 

In more news relating to Europe, regulators in the region have asked Google to provide further details regarding its secret advertising partnership with Meta. This partnership first made headlines a few months ago when it was revealed that Google was helping Meta bypass its search policies for ads targeting minors. Officials from the European Commission have been looking into a series of ad campaigns promoting Instagram to teenagers on YouTube, reports the FT.