2024 Cyber Week Report

Without a doubt, 2024 has been a year of resilience.

Despite persistent challenges like inflation, high interest rates, and recent natural disasters, consumer spending has continued to rise — driving economic growth and underscoring the adaptability of today’s shoppers. As National Retail Federation (NRF) Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz explained, “Household finances are in good shape and an impetus for strong spending heading into the holiday season, though households will spend more cautiously.”

Amid this cautious spending, many analysts predicted that consumers would take a more strategic approach to holiday shopping, starting early to better manage their budgets. Early holiday shopping results in October pointed to consumer resilience with a 4.59% year-over-year increase in core retail sales (excluding restaurants, auto dealers, and gas stations).

Cyber Week continues to play a pivotal role in driving sales and incentivizing shoppers during the holiday season — especially given this year’s shorter shopping period, which has five days less between Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. According to Salesforce, global ecommerce sales were up 6% over the five-day period.

BigCommerce customers, however, significantly outperformed the industry standard with a 26% increase in gross merchandise value (GMV) compared to Cyber Week 2023. Additionally, shoppers were more active this year, with a 13% rise in total orders, bolstered by an 11% increase in average order value (AOV).

Notably, BigCommerce customers experienced 100% uptime this Cyber Week for the 11th consecutive year, while BigCommerce support teams stood by 24/7 to assist during the busiest shopping days of the year.

“It is truly impressive and satisfying to see BigCommerce brands and retailers do so well during this critical Cyber Week period,” said Al Williams, General Manager of B2C at BigCommerce. “The 26% GMV increase is the largest increase our customers have seen since we started reporting in 2021. In a year when holiday spending is expected to grow much less, these results reflect our customers’ innovation and quality products as well as the strength and flexibility of our platform to help them deliver fast checkout, high conversion rates, and incredible buying experiences.”

Taking all of this into account, we’ve compiled a detailed 2024 Cyber Week report covering the five-day span from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday.

Read on for data insights into the macro trends and consumer behaviors BigCommerce has observed so far this holiday season.

Methodology

Cyber Week data from BigCommerce compares year-over-year (YoY) total platform sales metrics and represents the applicable period-on-period change that occurred November 23 – 27, 2023 and November 28 – December 2, 2024. It contains information from thousands of brands and retailers selling on the BigCommerce platform. Unless otherwise noted, the data is global.

What happened during Cyber Week

As consumer behaviors continue to evolve and more retailers roll out early holiday deals, many have questioned whether Cyber Week still holds the same relevance and impact as in past years.

This year, BigCommerce customers outperformed the Cyber Week industry benchmark, coming in at a 26% increase in GMV compared to 2023 — demonstrating how crucial this holiday sales week really is. The days that stood out were Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday.

Starting Cyber Week off strong, we saw a 36% increase in GMV YoY for Thanksgiving. This momentum carried through to Black Friday, resulting in a 28% YoY increase in GMV. BigCommerce customers also saw strong results on Cyber Monday, coming in at 25% GMV YoY growth.

When comparing the three days, Thanksgiving saw the highest increase in orders, experiencing 20% YoY growth, while Cyber Monday had the highest AOV growth, with an increase of 16% YoY.

Strong regional performance across the board.

Looking at regional performance, AMER, EMEA, and APAC all experienced growth this Cyber Week. EMEA’s sales were especially strong, experiencing a 39% increase in GMV YoY. This influx was supported by Italy, which saw a 112% increase in GMV, and the UK, which experienced a 38% increase in GMV.

AMER also experienced significant sales this Cyber Week, seeing a 26% rise in GMV YoY, supported by 27% GMV growth from the US. This resulted in the US seeing an 8.2% increase in growth over the five-day period compared to last year, according to Adobe.

Meanwhile, APAC’s GMV steadily increased by 4% compared to Cyber Week 2023.

Mobile orders scored a big win.

This year, BigCommerce customers saw mobile orders increase by 7% compared to Cyber Week 2023 and account for 35% of total orders. Regarding which device shoppers prefer, iPhone reigns supreme, totaling 71% of mobile orders.

Omnichannel shopping took center stage.

When it comes to channels, YoY GMV generated from social commerce platforms increased by 15%, with BigCommerce customers also experiencing an 18% increase in orders placed through social channels.

Shoppers embraced alternative payment options.

Alternate payment methods have gained significant traction over the past few years. These include payment options beyond traditional credit cards, like PayPal, Amazon Pay, or an Apple Wallet. As more shoppers embrace the ease and convenience of these payment options, it’s no surprise BigCommerce customers saw a 3% increase in alternative payment usage this year compared to Cyber Week 2023.

Cyber Week data also showed that more shoppers used Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) options compared to 2023. Given today’s economic pressures, many shoppers opt for these methods to help ease purchase anxiety and reduce financial strain — especially during peak spending periods, like the holidays. This has led BigCommerce customers to see a 10% increase in BNPL purchases this Cyber Week compared to last year.

Top performing categories for Cyber Week 2024.

The category with the highest GMV and GMV growth during Cyber Week 2024 was Apparel and Accessories, with a 52% increase. Toys and Games was another standout category, which experienced a 44% rise in GMV compared to last year. Sporting Goods also showed noteworthy growth, resulting in a 38% increase in GMV YoY.

Other high-performing categories this year include Hardware and Tools, Baby and Toddler, and Food and Beverage.

The final word

Cyber Week 2024 is officially in the books, leaving a lasting impact on retailers. This year’s record-breaking sales highlight the resilience and adaptability of both ecommerce businesses and consumers. The success of this holiday shopping week sets the tone for a strong year-end finish, with NRF predicting total holiday sales growth to fall between 2.5% and 3.5%, positioning brands for continued growth in 2025.

For more Cyber Week insights, tune into our livestream with Feedonomics on December 4 at 11 am CT.