Shopify merchants achieved record-breaking success during the 2024 Black Friday-Cyber Monday (BFCM) weekend, generating $11.5 billion in sales. This represents a 24% increase over last year, highlighting the growing influence of small and medium-sized businesses in the global holiday shopping landscape.
The four-day shopping period, which spanned from New Zealand’s early Friday to late Monday in California, saw over 76 million consumers worldwide purchasing from Shopify-powered brands. At its peak, sales reached $4.6 million per minute at 12:01 p.m. EST on Black Friday.
Harley Finkelstein, Shopify’s president, emphasized the platform’s impact, stating, “Shopify is transforming Black Friday weekend. What was once a ‘doorbuster’ shopping moment dominated by legacy players is now a global commerce event that businesses of all sizes participate in.”
Performance Highlights
- Global Sales: $11.5 billion in gross merchandise volume (GMV).
- Consumer Reach: Over 76 million shoppers worldwide.
- Entrepreneurial Growth: More than 16,500 entrepreneurs made their first sale.
- Record Sales Days: 67,000 merchants experienced their highest-selling day ever.
- Top Product Categories: Clothing tops, cosmetics, fitness & nutrition, pants, and activewear.
- Average Cart Price: $108.56 globally ($109.70 on a constant currency basis).
- Cross-Border Orders: Represented 16% of all transactions.
- Shop Pay Growth: A 58% year-over-year increase in sales via Shop Pay.
The top-performing countries during the event included the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Germany. Cities such as Los Angeles, New York, and London led in sales volume.
Tech Infrastructure Under Pressure
Shopify’s robust technical infrastructure played a pivotal role in ensuring seamless transactions throughout the event. Over the weekend, the platform managed:
- 57.3 petabytes of data processed.
- 1.19 trillion edge requests and 10.5 trillion database queries.
- A peak of 284 million edge requests per minute and 12 terabytes of data per minute on Black Friday.
Shopify highlighted the reliability of its systems, which handled unprecedented demand without disruption. “Black Friday-Cyber Monday wasn’t just busy—it was a live demo of Shopify’s rock-solid reliability and top-tier tech prowess,” the company stated.
Consumer Trends and Spending Insights
Shopify revealed key consumer spending trends during BFCM:
- The average cart price reflected consumers’ willingness to spend on high-quality products.
- Cross-border orders, accounting for 16% of total sales, underscored the platform’s global reach.
- Top-selling product categories illustrated strong interest in apparel, beauty, and health-focused products.
