Black Friday 2021

At this point, we've probably all heard about Black Friday. We've seen the social media posts, or heard the news stories, or seriously pondered how our email inbox will ever recover.

Like it or not, the weekend following the US Thanksgiving holiday is the official kickoff to the holiday shopping season, and a game-changer for many businesses, big or small. And even though Jeff Bezos doesn't hang out around here, plenty of businesses who use Big Cartel got in on the fun.

As the years have gone by, more of the days get their own special name: Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday... even not-for-profits and charities promote their causes on Giving Tuesday. From November 26 through November 29, Big Cartel shops sold over $9 million USD in goods. Thats 138,024 purchases from 24,488 unique stores that helped sustain independent businesses. Hell yeah.

And because Big Cartel doesn't take a cut from each sale, once those store have covered their own costs, that money is theirs to keep. We're proud to provide a tool that fits the budget for creators and small businesses, that helps them grow, explore their passions, and put a little food on the table.

While we're talking about last weekend, I'm slipping in a shout-out to a few teams that really keep Big Cartel going on a weekend like this. Once upon a time, the enthusiastic support of your communities could sometimes take us by surprise: a big swell in shoppers would momentarily slow down or even take down storefronts. But thanks to our DevOps team, that hasn't been an issue for several years. They get our servers set up and configured so there's plenty of breathing room.

And while most of us were off enjoying the long weekend or doing some shopping of our own, a handful of folks from Big Cartel's support team kept your questions answered. They made sure that any urgent requests were handled appropriately, and let the majority of the team rest easy. This kind of work can be taken for granted, so we wanted to take a moment and recognize that when a shop owner asks about the best way to set up a discount code for Black Friday, there's a real person on the other end of that email, taking time away from their loved ones (or their favorite tv show, which sometimes feels just as important) to help them get it done right.

So now what? Whether you're catching your breath after a whirlwind weekend or wondering if you missed out, the holiday season is far from over. Now that the initial wave has passed, stay in mind by sharing some behind-the-scenes footage of your creation or shipping process, or remind customers about shipping cutoffs. Need extra ideas? We've filled the Holiday Rush Calendar with important dates and relevant links. Give it a read. You've got this.