Shopify Reports Record-Breaking Black Friday, Cyber Monday Sales

Global eCommerce platform Shopify reported record-breaking sales of more than $5.1 billion on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, according to a press release.

Sales Nov. 27-30 surged 76 percent over last year’s more than $2.9 billion in reported transactions for the same holiday shopping weekend, the release stated. In the week leading up to Cyber Monday — Nov. 23-30 — sales went up 84 percent over last year.

“This has been a transformative year for commerce globally,” Harley Finkelstein, president of Shopify, said in the release. “... With the center of gravity in commerce shifting from in-store to online, the pandemic has accelerated a change we have long anticipated.”

He added that this “multichannel shopping phenomenon” is an outline for the “future of retail,” and record sales is testament to the strength of “the independent and direct-to-consumer businesses” that sell on the Shopify platform, according to the release.

Striving for sustainability and a low-carbon future, Shopify said in the release that it has offset all carbon emissions from the delivery of the weekend’s holiday sales — almost 62,000 tons.

“That’s the equivalent of carbon sequestered by 80,970 acres of North American forests in one year — the size of approximately 61,340 football fields,” Shopify said in the release.

More than 44 million shoppers worldwide bought merchandise from Shopify’s independent and direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands, a 50 percent increase over last year, the release stated. People spent an average of $93 per order in the U.S.; shoppers in Japan spent $106; Australia, $106; and Canada, $103. Cities logging the most sales were New York, Los Angeles and London. Countries with top sales were the U.S., U.K. and Canada.

Some 67 percent of sales were on mobile and 33 percent were on desktop. Last year, 68 percent of sales were on mobile sales and 32 percent were on desktop, the release stated.

According to an October PYMNTS study in collaboration with sticky.io, “D2C And The New Brand Loyalty Opportunity,” the growth trend of consumer-packaged goods (CPG) brands puts them in a solid position to gain loyalty and propel engagement.

Ongoing PYMNTS research on the pandemic’s effects has found that consumers are fearful of catching the virus at physical stores, and another shutdown could close some shops permanently.