Defying industry forecasts of a slowdown in retail purchases, Shopify merchants hit a new sales record this Black Friday-Cyber Monday weekend.
According to a report released by Shopify Tuesday, the e-commerce giant’s merchants generated a cumulative $9.3 billion in sales over Black Friday-Cyber Monday weekend. This marks a 24 percent increase from the same period 2022, which was itself a record-setting Black Friday-Cyber Monday for the company.
Shopify merchants generated $4.1 billion on Black Friday, as per a Saturday report, implying the remaining $5.2 billion was generated on the remainder of the weekend and Cyber Monday.
“This weekend was a testament to how [merchants] consistently deliver experiences and products that global consumers are looking for.”
Harley Finkelstein
Shopify’s results were part of what was a record-setting Black Friday-Cyber Monday weekend in many countries, despite global economic slowdown and fears in many countries of an impending recession. According to a survey by the National Retail Federation, 200 million people in the United States alone made purchases during the four day period between American Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday.
Shopify was not the only e-commerce giant to set Black Friday and Cyber Monday records. FinTech giant Square and Afterpay reported this week that sellers globally saw 70 million transactions with businesses via its service during the weekend, which represents a 14 percent increase from last year.
Salesfloor, a Montréal-based retail technology startup, reported a 15 percent increase in average sales and a 16 percent rise in transactions per retailer compared to last year’s Black Friday-Cyber Monday weekend.
According to Shopify, over 61 million consumers globally made purchases from brands on its platform during the period. Shopify noted that the peak shopping moment saw $4.2 million in transactions per minute, with the platform managing 967,000 requests per second at its peak, which translates to roughly 58 million requests per minute.
Shopify's GMV the entire year of 2014 (the year before it went public) was $100M less than the volume sold on Shopify yesterday🤯 pic.twitter.com/fPywMgKbdZ
— Pitch Decks (@pitchdecks) November 25, 2023
Among the top product categories for Shopify merchants during Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2023 were apparel and accessories, health and beauty, and home and garden. Leading sales countries included the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Germany. Cross-border orders made up 15 percent of all orders.
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Shopify’s one-click online checkout solution, Shop Pay, which was made available to enterprise retailers not currently using Shopify over the summer, saw a 60 percent year-over-year increase in sales during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Over 17,500 entrepreneurs made their first sale on Shopify, according to the report, and over 55,000 merchants experienced their highest-selling day on the platform.
“Watching entrepreneurs make their first sale and seeing established brands reach new highs on Black Friday-Cyber Monday was incredible,” Shopify president Harley Finkelstein said in a statement. “Our merchants spend all year building relationships with their customers and earning brand trust. This weekend was a testament to how they consistently deliver experiences and products that global consumers are looking for.”
Shopify’s Black Friday-Cyber Monday sales results follow the Ottawa-founded company beating revenue and profit expectations in the third quarter. Per Shopify’s latest earnings report, the firm’s total Q3 revenue hit $1.7 billion USD. Finkelstein noted the results serve as an indication that the company is “ready for sustained, profitable growth.”
Feature image source Shopify via Twitter.
UPDATE (04/12/2023): A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Canadians made 70 million payments through Square during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. BetaKit has updated the story to clarify those figures were related to global transactions.