What Shopify's $11.5 Billion BFCM 2024 Weekend Tells Us
Shopify merchants sold a record $11.5 billion over Black Friday Cyber Monday weekend, up 24% from 2023. The total is impressive, but two smaller numbers are more useful for planning 2025: cross-border orders and Shop Pay.
Published Dec 4, 2024. Author: Ecomm Guys. 4 min read.
Key Points
- Shopify merchants sold $11.5 billion over BFCM 2024, up 24%, with more than 76 million shoppers buying.
- Cross-border orders made up 16% of all global orders.
- Sales through Shop Pay rose 58% year over year.
- The average cart was $108.56, and Canada was one of the top five selling countries.
The Headline Numbers
Shopify published its results on December 2. Merchants sold $11.5 billion globally from early Friday in New Zealand to late Monday in California, a 24% increase on 2023. More than 76 million people bought from Shopify brands. Sales peaked at $4.6 million per minute at 12:01 p.m. EST on Black Friday.
More than 16,500 businesses made their first sale, and more than 67,000 merchants had their best sales day ever on Shopify. The average cart was $108.56, or $109.70 on a constant currency basis. Shopify notes that the figures are approximate, unaudited, and in US dollars. It adds that they include online and in-person sales.
Cross-Border Was 16% of Orders
Cross-border orders made up 16% of all global orders over the weekend. The top-selling countries were the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, and Germany. For Canadian brands, that's worth paying attention to. A real share of holiday buying happens across borders, and shoppers will buy from a store in another country when the experience feels local.
Feeling local usually means prices in the shopper's currency, shipping costs shown early, delivery times that are honest, and no surprise duties at the door. If you sell into the US or overseas and haven't reviewed Shopify Markets settings this year, plan time for it in the first quarter.
Shop Pay Sales Rose 58%
Sales made through Shop Pay grew 58% year over year. Shop Pay saves a shopper's details, so returning customers can check out in a few taps. That matters most on mobile, where typing an address and card number is where many purchases stall.
If Shop Pay is turned off on your store, or hidden below other buttons, look at why. Some stores disable accelerated checkouts for good reasons, such as complex B2B ordering. Most direct-to-consumer stores benefit from having it on and visible on the cart and product pages.
Shopify also reported that more than 91 million packages were tracked in the Shop app over the weekend. That's a reminder that the shopper's experience continues after checkout. Accurate tracking, clear shipping confirmation emails, and a simple returns page all shape whether a holiday buyer comes back in January.
Categories and Infrastructure
The top product categories were clothing tops, cosmetics, fitness and nutrition, pants, and activewear. Shopify also shared that its systems handled 1.19 trillion edge requests over the weekend and peaked at 284 million requests per minute on edge.
If you worry about traffic spikes, that last number should help. On Shopify, hosting capacity is the platform's job. Store owners still need to watch what they control, such as heavy apps, large images, and third-party scripts that slow pages down.
Pull Your Own Numbers
While the weekend is fresh, pull your own BFCM numbers and compare them with Shopify's.
- Check what percentage of your orders came from outside your home country, and whether those shoppers converted at the same rate.
- Look at what share of orders used Shop Pay or another express wallet, and how mobile conversion compared with desktop.
- Compare your average order value with $108.56, and check whether bundles or free shipping thresholds helped.
- List every issue your team or customers hit, from stock errors to slow pages, while you still remember them.
Plan 2025 While It's Fresh
Use that list to set two or three projects for the first half of 2025. For many Canadian brands, international selling and a faster mobile checkout will be near the top. Those projects take time to plan and test, and January to June is when you have it.
We can help you turn your BFCM results into a plan for next year. Book a call with our team.
Sources
- Shopify merchants drive record-high $11.5 billion in sales over Black Friday Cyber Monday Shopify, December 2024
- Shopify Merchants See Black Friday-Cyber Monday Sales Leap 24% PYMNTS, December 2024