The economic landscape of 2024 has been full of ups and downs, with fluctuating inflation and shifting consumer habits. Yet, eCommerce remains strong as more shoppers turn to online platforms. As we entered the 2024 BFCM weekend, predictions centered on pent-up demand, discounts, and AI-powered shopping experiences.
And did BFCM 2024 live up to its name? Definitely! Shopify's BFCM Live Map brought the action to life, giving us a real-time view of the global shopping frenzy. It lets us join merchants and shoppers to feel the excitement of the weekend like never before.
Now that the dust has settled, let's dive into the key takeaways and what the data really tells us about this year's BFCM impact on retailers.
The shopping power is stronger than ever
Shopify merchants reached an all-time high of $11.5 billion in sales during the Black Friday-Cyber Monday (BFCM) weekend, a 24% jump from last year, fueled by strong momentum leading up to the event. This milestone not only shattered records but highlighted the incredible power of global commerce in action.
The BFCM 2024 trends and records
More consumers are joining the shopping frenzy
A whopping 76 million customers worldwide made purchases from Shopify-powered brands.
Hourly sales hit their peak on Black Friday, November 24, at 12 p.m. ET, matching the trends of 2023 and 2022, with a record $4.6 million in sales per minute. This represents a 9.5% increase from last year’s $4.2 million peak.
Shoppers also spent a bit more on average, with the typical cart value rising from $108.12 in 2023 to $109.70 this year - an increase of 1.5%.
Top performers with both old and new names
Popular categories that continue to dominate include Clothing Tops, Pants, Activewear, and Cosmetics, which have remained consistent leaders in sales.
In BFCM 2023, Home and Garden made it into the top three, but this year, it was overtaken by Fitness and Nutrition, highlighting shifting consumer priorities.
The top-selling US cities remained similar to BFCM 2023 - with Los Angeles, New York, and London leading the pack. However, San Francisco and Miami set new records, marking a surprising surge in sales from these regions.
Cross-border is making progress
In terms of global sales, cross-border orders made up 16% of all purchases - slightly up from 15% in 2023 and 2022. While this change may seem modest, it signals steady progress in Shopify’s push for global commerce growth.
Other impressive records in Shopify BFCM 2024
Shop Pay also saw a significant 58% year-over-year increase in usage, reflecting consistent consumer trust and adoption.
Amongst 116,000+ new Shopify stores opened in 2024, according to StoreLeads, 16,500+ stores made their first sales this year, representing 14% of the group. This increased remarkably from only 6% of new stores making their first sales in BFCM 2023.
Finally, more than 67,000 merchants experienced their highest-selling day ever in sales during BFCM 2024. This marked a 22% boost compared to BFCM 2023, proving Shopify’s ability to empower brands to unprecedented levels of growth.
The tech scene behind the victory
The tech infrastructure behind Shopify's BFCM 2024 success is nothing short of impressive.
Shopify’s platform processed the following astonishing numbers over the weekend, demonstrating the immense scale of the event:
- 1.19 trillion edge requests
- 10.5 trillion database queries
- 1.17 trillion database writes
The data processed was equally staggering, with 57.3 petabytes (PB) of information handled, nearly double the 29.7 PB processed in 2023.
During peak moments on Black Friday, Shopify’s edge network managed an incredible 284 million requests per minute, a massive leap from last year’s 60 million.
App servers were equally busy, pushing 12 terabytes (TB) of data per minute - up from just 5 TB per minute in 2023.
Powering global-scale commerce demands observability systems that can handle immense scale. During the BFCM peak, we processed an astounding 7TB of logs per second 🚀📊
— Shopify Engineering (@ShopifyEng) December 3, 2024
Check out more BFCM highlights 🧵👇
These technical feats aren’t just impressive numbers; they show how Shopify’s powerful infrastructure supports global shopping at the highest level, ensuring that millions of customers and merchants can interact smoothly, even during the most intense shopping events.
In conclusion
As Shopify’s BFCM 2024 comes to a close, it’s clear that this year was a record-breaking success, driven by innovation, technology, and global commerce.
This year, Shopify also tracked over 91 million packages globally through the Shop App, shifting from shipping emissions reporting to providing real-time order tracking for a more seamless customer experience.
Looking back, BFCM 2024 highlights Shopify’s continued growth and resilience. With billions in sales, a surge in new merchants, and a stronger global presence, Shopify reaffirms its leadership in eCommerce. The future looks bright, and with ongoing innovation, the opportunities for merchants and shoppers are limitless.
Here's to an even more exciting year ahead, and again, thank you to independent businesses and Shopify enthusiasts everywhere. You’ve worked hard. ❤️
