Watch Global BFCM Sales in Real-Time with Shopify’s Live Map

We completely re-imagined our Live Map for Black Friday Cyber Monday 2020, a real-time view of global sales trends happening across Shopify.

For online businesses everywhere—it’s showtime!

By now, you’ve done the hard work of preparing your business for BFCM. Join us as we watch the impact of BFCM on commerce at a global level with the BFCM Live Map.

We completely rebuilt our BFCM Live Map with a few major improvements. This year, our real-time map shows the scale and shared success of more than 1 million independent business owners using the Shopify platform.

Explore the Live Map to watch key metrics such as:

• Sales per minute 
• Orders per minute
• Carbon offset amounts made through our BFCM offset commitment

If you're lucky, you may even catch an active flash sale in progress. ⚡

The full story of Black Friday Cyber Monday 2020 on Shopify will slowly unfold with each successful sale, so stay tuned in a few days as we report back with total numbers.

From global pandemic to fundamental shifts in commerce, it’s been a different kind of year for all of us. At Shopify, we remain committed to helping you be the difference makers for your customers and communities, across the globe.

Explore Live Map

BFCM Sales FAQ

What does BFCM stand for?

BFCM stands for Black Friday Cyber Monday, the four-day stretch that kicks off the holiday shopping season each November. The two events have distinct origins but now function as a single extended sales period for most retailers. Businesses of every size use the window to run limited-time discounts, flash sales, and coordinated marketing pushes to capture holiday demand.

How long does the BFCM shopping period last?

BFCM technically covers four days spanning Black Friday, the weekend, and Cyber Monday. BFCM includes two major shopping days, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, as well as the weekend in between where sales remain high. Many brands stretch promotions well beyond that core window. Many brands now run early Black Friday and Cyber Week promotions, making the event a 10–14-day revenue window for most ecommerce stores. Shoppers can expect deals to appear before Black Friday and continue into the following week.

Why is BFCM such a big deal for online sales?

BFCM matters because it concentrates an outsized share of yearly online sales into a single week. Together, the four days represent one of the highest-volume sales periods of the year for eCommerce businesses of any size. The surge in traffic and orders creates a critical window for merchants to attract new customers, clear inventory, and boost year-end revenue in a short amount of time.

How can businesses prepare their site for BFCM traffic spikes?

Preparing for BFCM traffic spikes means testing site speed and checkout flow well before the sales begin. Site performance becomes a real variable, since traffic volumes during BFCM are high enough that a slow or unstable site can directly cost sales. Customer support coverage also needs attention, since questions and issues during BFCM come in faster than usual. Extended support hours and clear answers to common questions reduce the number of shoppers who abandon a purchase.

Is BFCM worthwhile for small businesses, or just big brands?

BFCM works for businesses of any size, not only major retailers. Black Friday isn't just for big brands—higher ad costs are real, but so are higher purchase intents, and smaller brands should stay in the game while monitoring performance closely and adjusting in real time. Focused offers and close attention to results let small sellers compete without needing to outspend larger competitors.