By Ozge Ozcan, Chief Customer Officer
The holiday shopping season is a pivotal time for retailers and consumers. This year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) weekend was no exception, and at Forter, we were more prepared than ever to deliver the premium experiences consumers expect from the world’s largest brands.
Record-Breaking BFCM Trends
The numbers really speak for themselves. Over the BFCM weekend, Forter approved an astounding $8.11 billion. These figures highlight the immense scale at which we operate and showcase our ability to handle such volumes without compromising speed or security.
Even more impressive is the 0.87% year-over-year average online store growth in BFCM sales from 2023 to 2024 (when comparing the same stores within Forter’s network), indicating a healthy upward trend in consumer spending during this peak shopping period. And despite a slight -0.15% decline in average order value (AOV), overall transaction volumes increased, showing a subtle shift in consumer behavior toward more frequent, smaller purchases.
Strengthening Customer Relationships
One of our most significant achievements this year was fostering stronger connections between our merchants and their customers — both new and returning.
With an estimated 72.65% of regular online shoppers participating in BFCM, brands had an immense opportunity to engage with a wide audience. Forter enabled merchants to capitalize on this surge by ensuring seamless transactions and positive shopping experiences.
By fine-tuning our models and leveraging real-time data, we facilitated the approval of more legitimate transactions, ensuring that shoppers could complete their purchases without unnecessary friction. This is crucial, especially considering that 78% of consumers state they are likely to abandon their carts if the process is too difficult or time-consuming. By reducing friction and enhancing the customer experience, we helped our merchants build lasting relationships with a broader customer base, directly contributing to their revenue growth.
Unwavering Commitment
At Forter, behind every smooth transaction is a dedicated team working tirelessly to ensure excellence. This year, we achieved 100% uptime with zero escalations throughout the BFCM weekend. This flawless performance is a testament to our meticulous preparation, round-the-clock vigilance, and the robustness of our platform.
Our unwavering commitment reflects our company-wide dedication to our customers. We understand that downtime or security hiccups can translate to lost revenue and diminished customer trust — that’s why we leave nothing to chance. The collaboration and dedication across all departments ensured that our customers and their loyal shoppers enjoyed seamless shopping experiences during the busiest time of the year.
Looking Forward
The BFCM weekend serves as a barometer for consumer confidence and retail health. Within Forter’s network, this heightened activity — marked by robust transaction volumes and consumer activity — underscores the resilience of our merchants and the critical role that secure, efficient transaction processing plays.
As we look ahead, Forter remains committed to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in fraud prevention and customer experience. The insights gained from approving over $8.11 billion this weekend alone will fuel our innovations in the coming year. And with 48% of consumers indicating they will spend the same or more on holiday shopping in 2024, we are poised to help our customers capture this market potential.
In closing, we extend our deepest gratitude to our customers for their trust and partnership. Here’s to continued growth, unwavering security, and even more seamless shopping experiences in the future.
*All BFCM data based on Forter’s first-party network
