This is a common misconception: the notion that for real, serious, enterprise-level ecommerce sales, the only way forward is with your own custom-built ecommerce engine. Shopify excels at making things look simple. That may lead some users to view it as a one-size-fits-all, entry-level platform, better suited to independent retailers, mom-and-pop stores, or new start-ups. (And yes, it's great for them too!) But don't be fooled. Shopify is a powerful beast, and equally well-suited to enterprise-scale business.
As our work has shown time and again, Shopify can handle enterprise-level volume just fine. No matter the size of your store, the reach of your business, Inspira will scale a Shopify solution to meet your needs. (For example, just look at some of the massive brands already using Shopify.)
But nothing speaks louder than cold, hard stats.
So to illustrate the point, this week we want to show you exactly what Shopify is capable of doing for enterprise-level ecommerce businesses, by putting its platform to the ultimate test.
How did Shopify fare over the biggest ecommerce sales event of the year?
This latest Black Friday was a massive one for sales, and we’ve got all the data right here – to show you just what it looks like to run your enterprise-level business through Shopify’s platform.
Black Friday / Cyber Monday 2023
So, Black Friday 2023 is a wrap. And how do the numbers look, now that we’re on the other side of this year’s peak shopping season? Like another record-breaking year, that’s how.
Shopify’s merchants collectively reached new heights this year, as over the course of Black Friday a staggering total of $4.1 billion in sales in a single day.
Shopify President Harley Finkelstein has called it “Another epic, record-breaking Black Friday” – showing a 22% increase compared to 2022. The absolute peak was reached around 5 p.m. GMT (that’s midday in East Coast US), when collective sales on Shopify reached a jaw-dropping $4.2 million per minute.
And how about Cyber Monday? The numbers were better still. By the time the weekend was over, that annual increase had risen to 24% compared to 2022.
All counted, the Black Friday-Cyber Monday weekend 2023 bagged a whopping total of $9.3 billion in sales for Shopify merchants.
Let’s break down a summary of some of the data highlights:
All the Numbers from BFCM 2023
Sometimes numbers speak louder than words. So feast your eyes on the following data from BFCM 2023, courtesy of the stat people at Shopify.
- 61 million consumers! From the start of Black Friday, to the close of Cyber Monday, this year more than 61 million consumers made purchases from Shopify-powered stores.
- 58 million requests per minute! At its peak hours, the Shopify platform was handling 58 million requests per minute (that’s 967,000 per second!
- Record breaking sales for 55,000 merchants! This BFCM, more than 17,500 merchants made their first ever Shopify sale… and more than 55,000 had their best day of sales ever.
So there you go – the Shopify platform can handle all that traffic, all those requests and transactions, at once. And just look at some of the massive brands putting their trust into Shopify: from Heinz to Gymshark, and from Lindt to the BBC. (For even more, check our list of the Biggest Brands on Shopify.)
On Black Friday of 2015, the Gymshark website (then built on Magento) went down for 8 hours straight resulting in an estimated £143,000.00 in lost sales. So instead of asking yourself "Has my business outgrown Shopify?" you should really be asking yourself "Can I afford to not be on Shopify?"
Let Us Create Your Enterprise-Level Shopify Store
Here at Inspira, we have worked with some huge brands in the past – and we always recommend Shopify to them. The honest truth is, when it comes to reliability, resiliency and scalability, there’s just nothing else like it.
The ultimate test for any ecommerce platform is how it handles the Black Friday-Cyber Monday rush – and the numbers above speak volumes: Shopify means business.
So what do you think? We would love to hear about your ecommerce plans, and maybe we can help you build a bespoke new platform for your store! With its extensive suite of powerful tools, varying pay scales, and almost unlimited potential for customisation, we’d love to see you set up with the perfect enterprise-level Shopify store for your business. Let’s talk!
