Juphy’s Weekly E-Commerce News Express – 02-06 December 2024
Ceyda Duz
Get ready for a successful holiday shopping season! In this week’s roundup, we’re covering Shopify’s record-breaking BFCM, major milestones from this year’s Cyber Five, and the latest product updates from Shopify, Aiary, and Walmart. Stay in the loop with the hottest e-commerce and AI news, and gear up to make this season truly spectacular!
Shopify Merchants Set New BFCM Records in 2024
The Black Friday-Cyber Monday weekend of 2024 proved monumental for Shopify merchants, who collectively achieved $11.5 billion in sales—a 24% jump from the previous year. The event highlighted Shopify’s global impact, with over 76 million customers shopping from its merchants across the world during this busy shopping period.
The peak sales fever hit at 12:01 PM EST on Black Friday, with an outstanding $4.6 million in sales processed per minute. Standout achievements included 16,500 entrepreneurs making their first-ever sale, while more than 67,000 merchants recorded their highest-selling day in Shopify history.
Key Highlights from the Weekend
- Leading Products: Clothing tops, cosmetics, fitness & nutrition items, pants, and activewear.
- Top Regions for Sales: The U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, and Germany led the charts.
- Impressive Cross-Border Sales: 16% of all orders were international.
- Tech Excellence: Shopify’s strong infrastructure supported record-breaking activity, handling trillions of queries and processing peak traffic seamlessly.
As noted by Shopify, this event is no longer just a weekend sale—it’s a global celebration of entrepreneurship. As can be seen, Shopify continues to empower businesses of all sizes, setting the stage for record-breaking growth and innovation.
Cyber Five 2024: A Record-Breaking Start to the Holiday Shopping Season
The “Cyber Five” shopping period, spanning Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, showcased robust growth in U.S. online retail. Consumers spent an impressive $41.1 billion online during the five-day event, an 8.2% increase from last year’s $38 billion, according to Adobe Analytics. For the broader holiday shopping period, online sales reached $131.5 billion, reflecting a 9% year-over-year rise.
Cyber Monday Leads the Pack
Cyber Monday once again claimed the top spot as the busiest online shopping day of the year, with $13.3 billion in sales—a 7.3% increase over 2023. During peak hours, shoppers spent $15.8 million per minute.
Certain product categories saw notable spikes compared to average October sales:
- Toys: +680%
- Personal Care Products: +530%
- Jewelry: +478%
- Electronics: +452%
- Apparel: +392%
Trends Driving Growth
AI Chatbots and BNPL: The rise of AI-powered chatbots revolutionized holiday shopping, with retail website traffic from bots increasing 1,950% compared to 2023. Buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) purchases also hit new highs, totaling $991.2 million on Cyber Monday, with 75.2% of these transactions made via mobile devices.
Mobile Dominance: Over half of all holiday purchases (53.1%) came from mobile devices, highlighting the growing shift toward smartphone shopping. Cyber Monday alone saw 57% of purchases made on mobile, totaling $7.6 billion.
Affiliates and Social Media: Sales attributed to affiliates, including influencers, accounted for 20.3% of Cyber Monday’s total, highlighting the power of partnerships in driving e-commerce growth.
Thanksgiving and Black Friday Shine
Thanksgiving and Black Friday also saw notable increases in online sales:
- Thanksgiving Day: $6.1 billion (+8.8%)
- Black Friday: $10.8 billion (+10.2%)
Adobe attributed this growth to consumers taking advantage of early discounts and spreading their spending across the week, but they are still capitalizing on Cyber Monday deals as a final opportunity.
Strong Consumer Confidence
A rising Consumer Confidence Index suggests that shoppers remain optimistic about the economy, contributing to robust spending. Adobe predicts total U.S. online holiday sales for 2024 to hit $240.8 billion, up 8.4% from last year.
With strong momentum from the Cyber Five, retailers can expect a promising holiday season for this year.
Shopify Expands Payout Options for European Merchants
European Shopify merchants now have access to multi-currency payouts, simplifying financial operations for businesses across borders. This feature is available to Shopify Advanced and Plus users in the U.K., Germany, Spain, Italy, The Netherlands, and Austria. Merchants can choose from a wide range of payout currencies, including the U.S. dollar, euro, Japanese yen, Australian dollar, and many others, enabling greater flexibility in managing international transactions. This update reinforces Shopify’s commitment to supporting global commerce for European businesses.
Aiarty’s AI-Powered Image Matting for E-Commerce
Digiarty Software’s Aiarty has unveiled Image Matting, a new AI-driven tool designed to optimize image processing for e-commerce. Building on the success of its Image Enhancer, Image Matting offers advanced background removal and bulk replacement features. E-commerce sellers can now edit up to 3,000 product images simultaneously, making it easier to create polished visuals for their sales channels. This innovation aims to simplify and elevate product presentation across platforms.
Walmart Virtual Shopping Expansion with Seasonal Themes
Walmart has enhanced its Realm virtual store with four festive environments, offering shoppers a unique holiday experience. Developed with Emperia, the new themes include a mountain chalet, a holiday party, a white elephant exchange, and a “sweetest gifts” shop. Influencers contribute curated gift ideas, adding a personalized touch. A new wishlist feature allows users to create and share their holiday picks. This update builds on Realm’s earlier launch, which introduced immersive virtual shopping environments.
Gain Powerful Insights with Juphy’s AI Shopping Assistant Analytics
With the holiday shopping season in full swing and sales increasing, keeping track of every transaction in a seamless, user-friendly way is more important than ever. Tools like AI assistants have become indispensable, offering 24/7 support and boosting sales by providing that extra nudge customers often need. That’s where Juphy’s AI Shopping Assistant, featuring the ‘Built for Shopify’ badge, shines. Its dedicated report page allows you to effortlessly monitor the direct impact of Juphy AI on your Shopify store’s performance.
Track metrics like:
- Number of conversations and sales.
- Time breakdown and success of personalized product recommendations.
- Conversation details that led to sales.
- Key insights like AOV, ROI, and more.
Everything you need to optimize your store is right at your fingertips. Plus, with Juphy’s ‘Built for Shopify’ badge, there’s no need to switch between dashboards—you can access it all from within the Shopify dashboard itself.
Experience the difference today—try Juphy AI now: apps.shopify.com/juphy
Key Takeaways
Shopify Sets New BFCM Records: Shopify merchants hit $11.5 billion in sales during BFCM 2024, a 24% increase from 2023. Over 76 million customers shopped globally, with $4.6 million in sales per minute at its peak. Standout milestones included 16,500 entrepreneurs making their first sale and 67,000 merchants achieving their best sales day.
Cyber Five 2024 Breaks Records: Consumers spent $41.1 billion online during Cyber Five, an 8.2% increase from 2023. Cyber Monday led with $13.3 billion in sales, driven by AI-powered chatbots and BNPL growth. Mobile shopping accounted for 53.1% of holiday sales, with $7.6 billion coming from smartphones on Cyber Monday alone.
Shopify’s Europe Multi-Currency Payouts: European Shopify merchants can now access multi-currency payouts, simplifying cross-border transactions. Available to Advanced and Plus users in key markets like the U.K., Germany, and Spain, this update offers flexibility in managing international payments. Supported currencies include USD, EUR, and JPY.
Aiarty’s AI-Powered Image Matting: Aiarty’s new Image Matting tool enables e-commerce sellers to bulk process up to 3,000 product images, removing and replacing backgrounds effortlessly. This innovation simplifies creating polished visuals and enhancing product presentation across online platforms.
Walmart’s Virtual Shopping Experience: Walmart expands its Realm virtual store with festive themes, including a chalet, holiday party, and gift exchange. Curated influencer picks and a new wishlist feature enhance the immersive shopping experience. These updates blend personalization and convenience for holiday shoppers.
