Well, as quickly as it came, Black Friday-Cyber Monday is over for another year. BFCM is the year’s biggest shopping event, kicking off the holiday season with shoppers around the world ready to spend and snap up deals.
Today we’re going to take a look at some of the figures released by Shopify, as well as some extras about other trends in ecommerce over the weekend.
Total Shopify sales over BFCM weekend
The big number that everyone wants to know! Over Black Friday-Cyber Monday weekend, Shopify merchants accounted for $11.5 billion sales.
That represents a 24% increase from 2023 - a huge achievement for Shopify merchants around the world. There’s no doubt now the interest of customers in BFCM, whether it’s a discount, free gift card, or another incentive. The popularity of the event continues to grow, and this is worth noting for 2025 so that merchants can start their Black Friday strategy planning earlier.
67,000+ merchants had their highest sales day over BFCM
And over Black Friday-Cyber Monday, 76+ million customers shopped with brands powered by Shopify. In 2023, that was 61 million customers with 55,000 merchants seeing their highest sales day representing an increase of 25.4% and 21.8% respectively.
This demonstrates that brands across the board continue to perform well over BFCM - not just a handful of bigger retailers. And that more customers than ever are interested in shopping online for their Black Friday deals. This increase has been a trend for the past few years, so investing in your online presence is a solid strategy for 2025.
Cross border orders represented 16% of sales
Shipping across borders can seem like a daunting task, but when you open up to the world it can often lead to success. Over Black Friday-Cyber Monday, Shopify merchants saw a good number of cross-border sales.
2025 might be the year for merchants to start exploring opportunities beyond their borders. That might be starting small and looking to neighboring countries, or further afield and selling across oceans. Whatever the case may be, if the opportunity exists it’s time to take it seriously.
Mobile commerce continues to dominate sales
In 2023, the vast majority of sales on Shopify were from mobile devices - to the tune of 72%. While they haven’t released similar data just yet for 2024, we’ve seen data from Adobe that 79.3% of ecommerce sales over BFCM 2024 were on mobile. In 2018, 66% of Shopify sales were on mobile, meaning that there is the potential that mobile commerce has grown as much as 10% in just 6 years. What this tells us is that mobile commerce is continuing to grow.
This will be in part due to accessibility and ease-of-use. Mobile allows customers to shop anywhere - whether they’re on a train, in a bar, at work, or even in bed. More sites are prioritizing their mobile experience, and it’s clearly working for customers. For 2025, merchants should continue to look for ways to optimize their mobile experience, as this will enhance their user experience and sales.
AI and bot-driven conversions grew YoY
In a recent article by Retail Dive, they claim that bot-driven clicks to retail have increased 1800%. Retailers which make use of AI and chatbots also saw a 9% higher conversion rate than those without, with AI technology driving over $14 Billion in global online sales over Black Friday.
We’ve known for a while that AI would influence retail, and we’re starting to see this ring true. Customers looking for good deals, gift ideas, and help with purchasing decisions can now turn to AI tools to help them, as well as any AI tools directly on retailer websites. What this means for merchants is that in 2025, it’s time to look into how AI can enhance your customer experience if you haven’t already.
3 things you can do now to prepare for the rest of the holiday season
With just a few short weeks left of the holiday season, here’s what you can do to prepare your store and ride the waves of success to the end of the year:
Communicate shipping deadlines
December is a busy month for logistics, to put it lightly. Couriers and postal services are under a lot more pressure than usual, making it essential for retailers to be on the ball when it comes to shipping deadlines. And customers will be well aware of this pressure too. That means you need to clearly communicate any shipping deadlines in advance. Do this across your channels - email, social media, and your store. If there are any delays, be sure to update any affected customers.
Engage customers via email
Email is your most effective channel for engaging with your customers. You’re more likely to sell to an existing customer than acquire a new one, so using email marketing will help bolster your holiday sales. Whether it’s sharing new products or bestsellers, gift guides, special offers, etc., keeping up email engagement will keep your brand front of mind when your customers are looking for gift ideas whether for someone else or for themselves to share with others.
Promote your gift cards
Gift cards are a great way to give a meaningful gift without the stress of picking a physical product. Promote these the same way you would your products using your different channels. An easy way to draw attention is to add them to your primary navigation.
And as those deadlines loom closer, gift cards will start to become an even more attractive option for your customers still searching for a perfect gift. They can be delivered instantly, even on the day the customer is due to give the gift to its intended recipient.