Shopify outage in peak sales week no barrier for these Aussie brands

Five Australian brands have claimed the nation’s businesses are ‘breaking the internet’ following yesterday’s Shopify outage less than two weeks before Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) sales kick-off.

This year, Black Friday will be held on November 24 and Cyber Monday falls on November 27.

On Tuesday morning, Shopify Support confirmed the outage on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, in a post that was followed by another two hours later stating that the storefront issue had been resolved.

“We are aware that some merchant storefronts are not loading at this time. Our developers are working to resolve this ASAP,” the e-commerce giant said. 

However, many Australian brands were not deterred by the shortlived Shopify outage, with some BFCM campaigns already launched and raking in the sales, and other businesses just days away from launching their own BFCM campaigns.

York St Brands and tbh Skincare co-founder and BOOST LAB chief marketing officer Rachael Wilde told SmartCompany she loves it when she gets alerted to issues by customers before she even has time to realise it herself. 

Tbh Skincare founder Rachael Wilde. Source: Supplied

“It was all fixed quickly. I am sure we were one of many yesterday morning who were inundated with customer queries at around 7.40am as to why they could not get onto the website,” she says. 

“It just goes to show you how many customers are loyal to and invested in local Aussie brands and it makes me so proud. It is so exciting that so many Aussie brands are having such huge success at the moment.”

The York St Brands team launched its BFCM campaign on Thursday last week, with both launches for BOOST LAB and tbh Skincare seeing record days by a mile. 

BOOST LAB achieved over six figures, bringing in more than 1,400 orders in one day and more than 6,000 units in total, equating to an order made every 1-2 minutes.

Ten months’ work pays off

Wilde says typically November is typically the brand’s highest-performing month year-on-year due to the BFCM sales.

“Most pure-play e-commerce businesses will do almost one-quarter of their annual revenue in one month,’ she says. 

“Essentially all the work we have done for the past 10 months lead up to this time of year. 

“This year, tbh skincare launched into two huge retailers … [so] the goal for the brand was to get the product range into as many hands as possible and increase the accessibility from just online. 

“The focus for BOOST LAB this year was further awareness and growth of the brand’s owned media channels. 

“Given the sales achieved on day one of their Black Friday launch, it is clear that what we have done the past 10 months has paid off.”

Wilde confirmed the success of Black Friday really comes down to the activity run in the lead-up to November. 

“This means in the months leading up to Black Friday we focus on building up our subscriber lists, we increase our spend across performance marketing channels like Meta, and we ensure that we remain front of mind for the customer well before our launch of Black Friday,” she explains.

Record-breaking support from Aussie shoppers

In 2022, Australians spent more than $7.1 billion across the four-day shopping event, which begins on Black Friday, or beforehand, and continues through to Cyber Monday.

The founder of eco-conscious underwear brand Nat’v Basics Sandy Ronalds says Aussies are true to their nature in supporting Australian brands and this week’s Shopify outage proves this — with support pouring in nationally for brands.

Nat’v Basics founder Sandy Ronalds. Source: Supplied

Nat’v Basics launched its BFCM sale on Monday and sold over 13,900 units on the first day. 

In the first hour of the sale going live, Nat’v Basics achieved over five figures – a record-breaking day for the brand.

Ronalds says the brand’s sales campaigns are a vital part of growing the business within the Australian market and getting its product into new hands. 

“For Nat’v Basics this year has been about building further brand awareness and engaging with more consumers who haven’t necessarily engaged with us before,” she tells SmartCompany. 

“I believe sale periods are the perfect opportunity for not only Nat’v Basics but any Australian brand to do that. It is exciting to see the uplift after what has been a harder year than ever in the e-commerce space.”

The founder of Australian SPF brand Naked Sundays Samantha Brett says when Shopify goes down worldwide it can be a complete disaster for so many small businesses.

Naked Sundays founder Samantha Brett. Source: Supplied

“That being said, our customers are so excited to stock up on their SPF this summer that they patiently waited till the site was restored and continued with their holiday shopping,” she says. 

“It’s really great to see consumers supporting Australian-owned and female-owned businesses. Aussie brands are the leaders in all things beauty and sunscreen so it’s no surprise we are breaking the internet.”

With Naked Sundays’ BFCM sale set to go live later this week, Brett confirmed the brand has already noticed a 63% increase in sales from last month, alongside its Holiday Kits which are almost sold out.

Brett says achieving six figures in a week without yet being in its BFCM campaign is a big win for Naked Sundays. 

“Naked Sundays never goes on sale, so we are anticipating our biggest ever Black Friday sale,” she says. 

“It’s been our biggest month to date, which shows these campaigns are such a strong element to the growth of our business.”

Australian vegan-friendly multipurpose face and body brand Bangn Body’s founder Priscilla Hajiantoni said Shopify’s outage came as a surprise but was back up and running quite quickly.

Bangn Body founder Priscilla Hajiantoni. Source: Supplied

The brand is yet to launch its BFCM campaign, offering a 30% discount, but last week it started selling its holiday bundles.

“In the last week we have sold a holiday kit every second with 80% of stock sold out,” she tells SmartCompany. 

“It is our biggest week to date in the history of Bangn Body since we launched in 2019.”

Hajiantoni says it is a fun time for the business and its customers.

“With the sell-through of our Holiday Bundles and the upcoming BFCM sale I can tell that our products are in high demand and it will be one of our biggest months in Bangn Body history,” she says.  

Sally Obermeder and Maha Corbett, co-founders of wellness and beauty brand Swiish, were grateful to see the love that shoppers have for Aussie brands, despite technical mishaps. 

L-R: Swiish co-founders Maha Corbett and Sally Obermeder. Source: Supplied

“We were lucky the Shopify outage only happened in the early morning for Australia and was back up and running in no time,” Obermeder tells SmartCompany. 

“This is going to be Swiish’s biggest month this year; we launched into Priceline last week, alongside Black Friday and Cyber Monday launching later this week. 

“In just the past seven days we have seen a 20% uplift in online orders with a product selling every five minutes, without our sale live yet. It’s great to see the consumer’s support for their wellness routines.”