Shopify (NYSE: SHOP) (TSX: SHOP) and its merchants kicked off the holiday shopping season in style last week, with more than 500,000 Shopify merchants achieving record sales on Black Friday, and more than $1 billion in total sales during the weekend of November 24 through November 27. On Black Friday, at its peak, Shopify merchants processed more than $1 million in sales per minute, topping last year’s high of $555,716 per minute.

‘Small businesses are the foundation of the global economy, and the impressive amount of growth we saw on Black Friday goes to show that more and more shoppers want to buy from independent entrepreneurs,’ said Harley Finkelstein, COO of Shopify, in a press release.

‘Shopify’s focus is to set up our merchants for success, especially during this busy time of year. That’s why we provide them with resources, tools and functionality to confidently grow their businesses and produce stellar shopping experiences for their customers. The results from this year propel us forward to keep making commerce better for everyone,’ Finkelstein added.

Here are some highlights from the first big holiday shopping weekend of the season:

• On Black Friday, 66 percent of Shopify purchases were made on a smartphone or tablet, an 8 percent increase over 2016.
• The remaining 34 percent of sales on Black Friday were made on desktop computers, down from 42 percent last year.
• More than 600,000 pieces of apparel, 360,000 accessories and 210,000 household items were sold by Shopify merchants on Black Friday.
• The top five states with the highest Black Friday sales were California, New York, Texas, Florida and Utah.
• The total estimated distance for all Black Friday packages to be shipped to buyers would surpass 5 billion miles, farther than the distance between Pluto to Earth.
• On Thanksgiving Day, more than 2,800 orders per minute were processed at the day’s peak.
• More than 500,000 merchants in 175 countries sold over $1 billion in gross merchandise volume over the Black Friday – Cyber Monday weekend. By comparison, for the entire third quarter, Shopify reported $6.4 billion in gross merchandise volume.
• Over the course of the weekend, the U.K., Spain and South Africa had the highest sales internationally.
• Mobile sales grew to 60 percent over for the shopping weekend, an 11 percent increase over last year.
• For the full weekend, 1.4 pieces of apparel, 917,000 accessories and 531,000 housewares were sold.

‘This $1 billion milestone emphatically stakes a flag in the ground for entrepreneurs and small business owners all around the world,’ said Tobi Lutke, Founder and CEO of Shopify, in a press release. ‘Their global impact was felt through each and every sale to a customer who chose to buy from our unique merchants, and we’re fiercely proud of helping them be successful during a period historically dominated by big box retailers.’

In preparation of the holiday weekend, Shopify released 25 new products and features to support small businesses with sales, including the addition of Instagram and eBay as sales channels, shipping partnerships with DHL Express and UPS, simplified discount codes, real-time data reporting, and checkout improvements to make it easier for consumers to buy online.

Insider Take:

On Halloween, Shopify reported its third quarter financials, including a net loss of $9.4 million. It projected sizable operating losses for the fourth quarter and full year 2017. However, it also posted significant growth over the prior year. Shopify reported total revenue of $171.5 million, a 72 percent increase year over year. Of that, $82.4 million came from Subscription Solutions, a 65 percent increase, and $89.0 million came from Merchant Solutions, a 79 percent increase.

Though this growth is not yet boosting Shopify into the black, the company is consistently adding new products, services and features to support merchants of all sizes. Shopify is investing in itself for the long term.