On May 3, 2025, 2.5 million people gathered in Copacabana to see Lady Gaga for free. It was the largest recorded audience for a solo female artist. But the impact didn’t end when the lights went out. On screens across Latin America, Mercado Libre shopping carts were already filling up.
MELI Trends 2025 confirms it: in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Chile, what drives searches is what people feel, hear, and see. And 2025 had it all.
Shows don’t just fill stadiums. They fill shopping carts too.
Before getting into the country-by-country detail, here’s one figure that sums it all up: just five concerts in Mexico generated an economic spillover of more than 9.4 billion pesos — equivalent to 69% of what the entire country’s movie box office produces in a year. [1]
People don’t just go to the show. They plan the trip, book accommodation, buy clothes, and search for everything related to the artist weeks in advance. Concerts have become the region’s most powerful consumption engine.
Brazil: the fever that came from Copacabana
Lady Gaga, Shawn Mendes, and Dua Lipa’s visits to Brazil moved e-commerce in a big way: Shawn Mendes t-shirts topped 3.8 million searches, glitter associated with Dua Lipa reached 55.4 million, and products linked to Lady Gaga logged close to 98 thousand searches. [2]
In food, pistachio had its own viral moment: it surpassed 5 million searches, with especially strong spikes around Easter and year-end. [2]
Mexico: where music moves millions
Bad Bunny, Shakira, and Lady Gaga dominated searches. Shakira’s World Tour led the economic spillover with 3.247 billion pesos and close to 450 thousand attendees; Bad Bunny followed closely, with fans arriving from 77 countries. [1]
In food, Mexico achieved something difficult: balancing the viral with the local. Dubai chocolate and matcha exploded, while chamoy and mezcal held steady with millions of searches each. [3]
Argentina: K-Pop, pistachio, and a star from the bottom of the sea
Argentina delivered the year’s most unexpected data. K-Pop racked up more than 15.7 million searches driven by the premiere of Demon Hunters, and concert looks (sequins, glitter, fuzzy sweaters) skyrocketed with the arrival of international and local artists. [4]
Pistachio reached 1.2 million searches and Dubai chocolate half a million, both driven viral by social media. And science delivered the surprise: the broadcast of a CONICET underwater expedition drove more than 44,000 searches for the “big-bottomed starfish,” generating spikes in telescopes, microscopes, and science toys. [4]
As Adrián Ecker, Country Manager of Mercado Libre Argentina, summed it up: “The data clearly shows us that consumption is also explained by its connection to experiences and cultural phenomena.” [4]
Chile: Oasis, 31 Minutos, and the ever-present wine
With more than 9 million people searching during the year, e-commerce in Chile experienced a 2025 deeply connected to culture and live events. Oasis racked up 380 thousand searches after announcing its tour; Dua Lipa logged 49 thousand following her shows at the Estadio Nacional; and 31 Minutos accumulated 310 thousand searches, 92 thousand of which were triggered after its Tiny Desk. [5]
The fact that a Chilean puppet band competes in the same ranking as Oasis is, honestly, one of the coolest data points in the report.
In food, Dubai chocolate, matcha, and wine led the way — the latter with 3.8 million searches, reaffirming its place in local consumption. [5] As Camila Cembrano, Commercial Director of Mercado Libre Chile, summed it up: “A concert, a series, or a viral phenomenon can trigger thousands of searches within hours.” [5]
What unites the whole region
Dubai chocolate showed up in Chile, Mexico, and Argentina. Concert glitter crossed Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina. Matcha traveled from Santiago to Monterrey. Latin America consumes more and more in sync: a concert in Copacabana, a viral song in Buenos Aires, or an ingredient that exploded on TikTok can move shopping carts across the whole region within hours.
Latin American consumption can no longer be explained by demographics and purchasing power alone. It’s explained by what people felt, saw, and heard throughout the year. And if 2025 had one iconic image, it was that of 2.5 million people in Copacabana. The data confirms that moment wasn’t just a memory: it was also a market driver.
Sources
[1] Milenio — Conciertos millonarios impulsan a México como potencia musical en 2025 — https://www.milenio.com/negocios/conciertos-millonarios-impulsan-mexico-potencia-musical-2025
[2] Mercado Econ & Consumo Brasil — Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga e Shawn Mendes elevam buscas por moda e beleza — https://mercadoeconsumo.com.br/16/03/2026/ecommerce/dua-lipa-lady-gaga-e-shawn-mendes-elevam-buscas-por-moda-e-beleza-no-mercado-livre/
[3] Fast Company México — MELI Trends revela lo que los mexicanos compraron en 2025 — https://fastcompany.mx/2026/02/27/meli-trends-2025-mexicanos-compraron-en-linea/
[4] El Economista Argentina — Pistacho, K-Pop y una estrella ‘culona’: Mercado Libre revela lo más buscado — https://eleconomista.com.ar/actualidad/pistacho-k-pop-una-estrella-fondo-mar-lo-mas-buscado-mercado-libre-2025-n92405 [5] El Repuertero — Marcas locales, influencia festivalera y chocolate Dubai: las búsquedas que marcaron el 2025 en Chile — https://www.elrepuertero.cl/noticia/sociedad/marcas-locales-influencia-festivalera-y-chocolate-dubai-las-busquedas-que-marcaron-