On Cyber Monday 2025, Shopify experienced a major technical outage that prevented thousands of merchants and customers from logging in or completing sales.

The disruption peaked around 11 a.m. Eastern Time, with about 4,000 outage reports globally. Many businesses could not access their admin dashboards, mobile checkout, or point-of-sale systems.

Shopify acknowledged the problem, attributing it to a glitch in its login authentication system. By early afternoon, the company said it had fixed the issue and began restoring service, though some users still experienced interference.

The timing could not have been worse. Cyber Monday is among the busiest online shopping days of the year. The platform outage effectively paused sales operations for many small and medium-sized businesses, potentially costing them significant revenue.

Several merchants publicly vented frustration, especially those who had prepared promotions and marketing campaigns for the day. On social media many called the outage “an absolute fail,” especially given the high stakes.

Analysts noted that Shopify’s stock price dipped as a result of the disruption, reflecting investor concern about operational reliability.

What this really means is that reliance on centralized e-commerce platforms carries real risk. For small retailers depending on such platforms for peak-season revenues, any technical failure can translate directly into lost sales and damaged customer trust. For Shopify, the outage may prompt efforts to reinforce stability, but for merchants, it is a painful reminder to diversify or have fallback plans.