Happy Holidays from Big Cartel

Congratulations to our community of stores for an incredible holiday season! On Black Friday weekend, our sellers had 55% more orders than the same timeframe in 2019, and we saw 12,000 more stores participating. That's 54% higher than the number of stores actively selling over the same weekend last year.

After all of that work of preparing, promoting, packing and shipping, and answering customer questions, it's time to make a plan to relax and recharge. Did you take a break from packing up orders to drink water today? Are you making plans to make that kind-of-involved-but-truly-delicious recipe this month? Running a small business is a grind. Often it's a one-person show, so if you don't show up and get things done, nobody does. That's a lot of pressure, especially during the December holiday season. So even though it feels like there's so much to do, you deserve a break. And so do we.

This holiday season, we’re giving the entire company time off to end the year. That means things will get a little quiet around here, and it may take us a little longer to respond to general questions. Don't stress too much: the Big Cartel platform will still be up and running, and our support team has staggered their time off so they'll still be around to answer urgent requests. But our team has worked so hard this year, building new features, designing nonstop, keeping the platform running smoothly, and answering a record-breaking number of emails from shop owners. All while attending protests, delivering supplies to their community, taking care of family, and helping kids with remote learning. As a company that emphasizes the importance of work-life balance, this is a moment to lean into life.

We hope you'll join us in taking some time away from your business, and trust that it'll help you come back with even more enthusiasm and new ideas in the new year. We have a few ideas for how you can communicate a pause to your customers, so get that shop updated and take a break. And if you feel like you can't shut down the whole operation, look for opportunities for some mini-breaks. Take a few hours off in an afternoon or enjoy a slow morning and clear your head with a nap, video game, or long talk with a friend. Everyone deserves a little time to themselves.

Meet you back here in 2021.