Retailers Go Above and Beyond for Black Friday Cyber Monday 2023
In e-commerce, the Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) weekend is a pivotal event for most brands. BFCM can be a make or break moment, driving a significant amount of revenue for the year if it goes well. Brands spend the better part of the year preparing for this exciting weekend, ensuring they have the inventory in place, their marketing strategies ready to go, discounts locked in, and their technical platforms unbreakable.
This year, it was widely anticipated that retailers would struggle during BFCM, as consumers were expected to be more cautious with their spending due to tough economic times. But Shopify sellers have outdone themselves, setting a new benchmark for online shopping.
Let’s explore more about the 2023 BFCM results from Shopify’s perspective, what these results indicate about e-commerce this holiday season, and spotlight a few brands that have been winning the holiday season so far.
Shopify BCFM results for 2023
During the 2023 BFCM weekend, Shopify sellers collectively achieved an astonishing $9.3 billion in sales globally. This 24% increase from last year shows the growing dominance of Shopify, as well as the continued rise of omnichannel commerce.
Sales peaked at $4.2 million per minute, or a whopping 70K per second, at 12:01 PM EST on November 24, indicating the immense scale of shopping activity. This surge in sales was fueled by over 61 million global consumers, showing that effective marketing strategies are attracting customers.
Apparel and accessories, health and beauty, and home and garden emerged as the top product categories, and the average cart price stood at $108.12. This was a great sign for brands, as it was an increase over the normal average cart price, demonstrating that consumers are willing to spend a little more during the holiday season! Although mobile purchases did lead the way in terms of quantity, the AOV on desktop were still higher - proving the need to continue to find mobile specific methods to increase the AOV.
Geographically, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Germany led as the top-selling countries. Within these countries, cities like Los Angeles, New York, and London emerged as the top-selling cities, highlighting the urban-centric nature of the highest consumer activity.
Shopify's BFCM sales outpaced many of their competitors, including BigCommerce, Adobe, and Salesforce. This BFCM also marked a milestone for entrepreneurship on the platform, with over 17,500 entrepreneurs making their first sale on Shopify, and more than 55,000 sellers experiencing their highest-selling day ever.
Why did BFCM 2023 perform so well?
There are a number of theories as to why BFCM went so well (at least in terms of Shopify’s results), despite tough economic conditions. One theory is the continued growth of e-commerce over traditional shopping, especially on Black Friday - normally a day reserved for in-store sales. More and more people are spending their Black Friday’s at home, adding items to their cart from their couch rather than waiting in lines in retail stores. Nothing exemplifies this more than Amazon’s strategy of hosting the first ever Black Friday NFL Game. Additionally, shoppers are trying to make smarter choices when they shop, many leaning towards sustainable items that will last longer, helping to increase the AOV of purchases as they tend to be more expensive products.
Additionally, eCommerce businesses seemed to be more prepared for the event from a marketing, operational, and technological standpoint. A lot of this can be related to the increasing investment in technology platforms and AI that have come out in the past year. Equipped with more advanced technology, these brands were able to improve their planning through better insights and offer more effective advertisements, personalised shopping, streamlined inventory, and chatbots that make customer service easier and less costly.
Finally, the expected trend of social media and content led sales continued to lead many brands to success. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok have evolved into hubs for engaging with customers and making direct sales. Brands are becoming much more savvy at how to do this, which is improving shopping experiences and leading to bigger sales.
Brands that stood out this BFCM
Certain brands have clearly stood out from the crowd this BFCM, showing exceptional marketing and product innovation. Let’s take a look at some of those brands and their top-selling products.
Jones Road
Founded by Bobbi Brown, Jones Road came into existence on the basis that we don’t need more beauty products, just better ones. Their best selling Miracle Balm is suited for no-makeup looks or layered over foundation.
Vuori
California-inspired Vuori creates clothing for fitness-lovers that is built to last. A warm beanie is the perfect winter accessory and their Alpine Waffle Beanie is no exception.
Gymshark
Another apparel brand for exercise buffs, Gymshark was founded by a British university student who has since become the UK's youngest billionaire. This BFCM buyers were particularly drawn to their cozy Crest Joggers which come in a wide range of colors.
The 2023 BFCM weekend saw Shopify sellers go beyond expectations, showing that even tough economic times do not have to hold businesses back from exceptional performance.
Let us know how your brand performed this BFCM!
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