Shopify's Explosive Worldwide Sales Figures:Shopify officially revealed Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend results, with more than one million Shopify-powered brands worldwide selling $5.1 billion. Total revenues rose by 76 percent from the $2.9+ billion recorded for Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend in 2019 from November 27 to November 30, a mark that was broken on Saturday, November 28, at 5:00pm ET this year.Shopify 2020 Black Friday/Cyber Monday Glimpses:Globally, 44+ million buyers bought from Shopify independent and direct-to-consumer brands , a 50% Boost from 2019.Black Friday/Cyber Monday Weekend revenues peaked on Black Friday at 12:00 PM ET with sales of $102 million+ per hour.Throughout the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend, customers paid $89.20 USD on average per order. On average, customers spent the most in Japan ($106.40 USD) and Australia ($105.50 USD), alongside of shoppers in Canada ($103.00 USD), the US ($92.80 USD), and others.New York, Los Angeles, and London were the top-selling cities during the shopping weekend, while the US, UK and Canada were among the world's top-selling countries.Since last year, Japan (347 %), Italy (211 %), Germany (189 %), and the UK (122 %) have seen triple-digit revenue growth on the website.This Black Friday/Cyber Monday, smartphone revenues remained largely stable compared to last year, with 67% of sales made on mobile devices compared to 33% on desktop, compared to 68% of sales made on mobile devices compared to 32% on desktop in 2019.This weekend, with health and beauty, and home and garden afterwards, apparel and accessories held the top spot for sales through Shopify-powered stores.Shopify’s stock price on the Toronto Stock Exchange rising 123% since March, trading at $1,390 on Tuesday morning.Shopify offset all carbon emissions from the fulfillment of each order placed on the Shopify platform over the weekend, resulting in the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend being offset by almost 62,000 tonnes of carbon emissions.What online shopping during COVID-19 looked like:This year has seen a shift in retail’s “centre of gravity” amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. Shopify ran a live dashboard, tracking each transaction processed through its in-person and online channel, offering a near real-time view into the flurry of shopping activity over the four-day period and turning retail into something of a competitive sport.Harley FinkelsteinShopify President“2020 is a transformative year for commerce globally. With the center of gravity in commerce shifting from in-store to online, the pandemic has accelerated a change we have long anticipated. This multichannel shopping phenomenon is the blueprint for the future of retail—and we couldn’t be more excited by it.”2020 Black Friday/Cyber Monday Weekend for Shopify Merchants from HulkApps Perspective:Shopify merchants generated more than 513 million requests worldwide during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, according to data collected by us. Total requests grew by 76% from the 5+ million reported for Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend in 2019, a record was made this year with 83.5+ million requests served on 27th November, Friday and 75+ million on 30th November, Monday.Data shows that total requests in the last 30 days is 1,818,438,337, and we are expecting this momentum during 1st week of December as well.We saw holiday shopping start earlier than ever before, with daily total request increasing 15 days before Cyber Monday, nearly two weeks earlier than previous years. In fact, in the week leading up to Cyber Monday, from November 23 through November 30, requests increased by 34% from last month.Shoppers were on the lookout for entertainment, beauty and electronics this BFCMThis BFCM, shoppers were seen most interested in shopping from brands who sell vegan beauty products (185.6k), toys and games (298.3k), and home furniture (179.4k), followed by electronics, clothing, and health & beauty.We saw shortly after lockdowns in March that the shopping trend was changing with top categories being in the furniture, home office equipment, and exercise equipment product categories.Top Referring BrandsBFCM shopping took place on mobileAs shoppers incline more toward browsing and buying on their mobile devices, shortening their purchase time, giving brands a short timeframe chance to make an impression. The below, HulkApps traffics data indicates that now, more than ever, brands need to ensure they’re delivering optimal shopping experiences to drive the results they want during the biggest shopping event of the year.Preferred channels for BFCM purchases among consumers:You can always bolster your reach by using the right social media practices that increase your engagement with your audience and eventually boost your brand. Traffic is key to enhancing your reach and whatever marketing efforts are there can be evaluated for the purpose too. Instagram alone generated about 665.4 K traffic while Facebook drew about 583.8 K traffic during the BFCM 2020 period. Phone or tablets contributed to sixty-nine percent of sales, while just 31 percent came from desktop, suggesting that eCommerce is highly dependent on the mobile devices. Visit SummaryNew York and Los Angeles are among the top selling cities, with Toronto standing at sixth position. The number of Canadian consumers purchasing from Shopify merchants grew by 57 percent since last year, with Canada as the third top-selling country, behind the United States and the United Kingdom. Australia came fourth followed by China. Cross-border shopping also increased, with 19 percent of all checkouts shipping from one country to another.4TB of data stored in the Last 7 DaysThis year, more consumers are bringing forward their Christmas shopping, with almost a third looked to buy presents over Black Friday. This intention was even higher in women (36%), and is over 40% in London and Northern Ireland. This year, Black Friday is more than just about finding a bargain - it’s also about doing Christmas shopping in advance to ensure everyone could avoid crowds, and hassles of the last-mile deliveries. Saying of which, During Black friday, HulkApps saw a spike of 24.4% of Visits18.4% of Data Transfer From 26 th - 27th, 2020.App-specific performance:While some businesses have avoided discounting in the past, although it would mean to miss out on a significant share of shoppers. Even with a drop in people shopping this year, retailers are looking for ways to make a deal. To capitalize on interest while preserving margins, retailers have responded by offering some kind of promotion. Over the last few years, our apps have solidified their position in serving Shopify Merchants during the holiday shopping season. The data captured during BFCM reveals that the Shopify Product Options App has seen a growing consumer affinity, followed by Free Product Reviews App.What’s your BFCM story?This year’s Black Friday Cyber Monday featured several special moments and notable milestones. Independent businesses contributed at large, but it is often overlooked in this global shopping weekend. What is more surprising is every business gave an outstanding collective effort, and we are going to celebrate this every year. With that said, we’d like to hear about your experience through our guest blogging option.Key takeaways:Our gathered data revealed how our customers capitalized on BFCM this year—and ways they can continue to capitalize in the future.1) Increased send frequency.Shopify stores merchants utilized the best resources - Klaviyo Campaign Setup - and made a big jump in email frequency on BFCM and customers responded by continuing to open, click-through, and buy from those emails.2) In-stock emails brought in more revenue.Shopify Back in stock emails brought in more revenue than average on BFCM, indicating that customers are primed to buy from marketing emails on those days.3) People check and make purchases on their phones.On BFCM, people are checking emails on their phones and clicking through to buy instead of during it in a traditional manner, using computers. So convert your Shopify built store into a Mobile App with HulkApps.Although BFCM is over, the holiday shopping always remains there. To continue your strong sales through the rest of the season, check out our recent articles and recently added new services.