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The news: Shopify鈥檚 stronger-than-expected holiday season that included its merchants鈥� 鈥渕ost successful Black Friday-Cyber Monday selling period ever鈥� helped the ecommerce technology vendor close the year on a high note. Gross merchandise volumes (GMV) grew by 25.7% year over year (YoY) to $94.46 billion, outpacing FactSet鈥檚 consensus estimate of $93 billion.

North America retail sales grew 9.5% YoY, with record results during Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales events that contributed to a holiday season that Amazon called its 鈥渕ost successful yet.鈥�. Advertising revenues rose 18% YoY to $17.29 billion, slightly short of the $17.4 billion expected. Earnings per share of $1.86 were up 86% YoY, well ahead of the $1.49 expected.

GMV from third-party marketplaces during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend grew 44% YoY. GMV from travel increased 42% over the same period. Expanding beyond traditional retail categories is also paying off: Professional and legal services GMV surged 60% YoY. Affirm Card GMV jumped up 113% YoY. Affirm said redesigning its app to promote the card drove volume.

Retailers stand to benefit from generative AI 鈥渕oving beyond the hype cycle and demonstrating concrete successes,鈥� Deloitte writes, noting that retailers that offered genAI tools like chatbots during the Black Friday weekend had a 15% higher conversion rate than other merchants.

When we last checked in on this season, Black Friday had just happened. Holiday spend was relatively healthy. And we were eyeing a very short and very funky December holiday season. (01:13):. Now it's January. I still haven't made my returns of the thing I bought that didn't fit me on Black Friday, and it's probably too late now.

Both Temu and Shein grew sales by double digits on Black Friday and notched growth on Cyber Monday, per Facteus data cited by Reuters. Temu generated $53.3 million in revenues on Black Friday and $55.1 million on Cyber Monday; Shein鈥檚 sales reached $34.2 million and $38.2 million on those respective days.

The Cyber Five became the Cyber Dozen as retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy rolled out Black Friday discounts well ahead of Thanksgiving weekend. Steep and widespread discounts propelled online sales up 14.6% YoY on Black Friday alone, per Mastercard SpendingPulse. As a result, nonstore sales鈥攚hich includes ecommerce鈥攇rew 1.8% MoM and 9.8% YoY in November.

Why it matters: TikTok is ramping up signups and Shop sales after a blockbuster Black Friday performance, which underscored the app鈥檚 influence among US consumers and its growing importance as an ecommerce destination. TikTok Shop generated $100 million in sales on Black Friday alone, three times what it saw in 2023.

While Black Friday was a major contributor to the November increase, mall visits in the period leading up to Thanksgiving were also up on a YoY basis鈥攍ikely the result of a lengthened promotional season from retailers looking to get a head start on holiday shopping.

They said they had a record breaking Black Friday in Cyber Five, which you kind of have to take with a grain of salt, given that they had a much longer sales period this year than they have had in the past. But even taking that into account, it was a good quarter for them. Marcus Johnson (04:14):. 40% just overall market, doing good things. Okay, what else do we have? Rachel Wolff (04:20):.

Amazon鈥檚 extended Black Friday and Cyber Monday event was its biggest ever, with record sales and items sold. TikTok Shop generated more than $100 million in sales on Black Friday, driven by over 30,000 livestreams from creators and sellers.

US sales of luxury goods rose 14% YoY during Black Friday, per Signifyd, while the average price per item was 13% lower. More shoppers are avoiding brands鈥� flagship stores in favor of outlets or off-price retailers where they can score designer goods for a fraction of the original price. Our take: The luxury market is under pressure as consumers in the US and China cut spending.

Black Friday and the Cyber Five window was a crucial test for Prime Video鈥檚 shoppable advertising capabilities. Streaming and connected TV platforms spent much of 2024 launching shopping features, though Amazon has a leg up due to its merchant marketplace. Amazon sunsetted Freevee, its free, ad-supported streaming service, merging it with Prime Video to consolidate its streaming advertising offerings.

Several media buyers told Digiday they devoted as much as 10% of their monthly budgets to shoppable ad formats centered on Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales events to gauge their performance. Digiday found that Amazon鈥檚 shoppable ads secured major clients including Fisher-Price and Dollar Shave Club (DSC).

These trends align with retail data showing footfall fell for the second consecutive month in November, weighed down by poor weather and a later-than-usual Black Friday. More challenges ahead: The UK retail landscape looks bleak. Consumers are grappling with a cooling job market and rising mortgage and energy costs.

Visa proactively blocked 410% more suspected fraudulent transactions in the UK on Black Friday than it did the year prior. And across all of Cyber 5 weekend in the UK, Visa blocked 117% more transactions than it did in 2023. The payments network didn鈥檛 disclose the number of US transactions it stopped.

How advertising will change: TikTok has stayed the course throughout 2024 despite the ban, introducing new features and seeing significant success with TikTok Shop around Black Friday. But with (at least) a temporary blackout looking like a certainty, marketers are sure to turn their attention elsewhere.

Best Buy鈥檚 Black Friday Sale kicks off on Thursday with an initial batch of doorbusters, followed by more on November 22 and November 29. Those deals include 41% off an LG 45-inch OLED gaming monitor and 54% off a Dyson digital slim cordless vacuum. The retailer also plans to offer app-exclusive flash deals on Black Friday.

What fueled interest: TikTok Shop鈥檚 major push into US social commerce鈥攚hich saw it attract $100 million in Black Friday sales鈥攄rew attention to the historically slow-growing sector. But it鈥檚 still a nascent one: Consumers report lower trust in social commerce, with many staying on the sidelines.

That includes a 10.2% gain on Black Friday to $10.8 billion (a hair above our forecast of $10.76 billion) and 8.8% on Thanksgiving to $6.1 billion (almost exactly in line with our July forecast of $6.11 billion). The trends:. The looming threat of tariffs drove shoppers to trade up in categories like electronics, appliances, and sporting goods.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are still the two biggest shopping days of the year, but with many brands moving sales earlier鈥攁nd shoppers holding out for deals in December鈥攖he rest of the holiday season has become more important.

The platform is preparing for millions of consumers to shop via livestream commerce in November and December and anticipates triple-digit Black Friday growth. Across the pond: TikTok is equally optimistic about its chances in the US, where it鈥檚 embedding commerce more deeply into the user experience.

Its family-friendly programming and broadcast hours the day before Black Friday makes it high-value ad space. The average ad during last year鈥檚 parade sold for $865,000, per Guideline, netting NBCU $52 million in advertising against a production budget of about $7 million. 鈥淭he National Dog Show,鈥� which airs immediately after the parade, is also a major moneymaker for NBCU.

Roughly 2 in 5 (38%) of consumers across nine countries鈥攊ncluding the US, France, and Australia鈥攈ave either already used genAI in the course of their shopping journeys or plan to use it to shop Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and other sales, per Boston Consulting Group鈥檚 2024 Black Friday Survey.