The ever-popular battle royale game Fortnite is about more than simply surviving and taking out your opponents—it’s also about leaving a message. It’s important to dress your avatar appropriately in Fortnite, flaunt your back bling, and use the best emotes to celebrate victory. 

The magic occurs in the Fortnite Item Shop, which offers a bewildering selection of cosmetic goods that let players show off their own sense of fashion and individuality. In this in-depth look, we’ll examine the many Fortnite Item Shop categories, reveal some astounding sales numbers, and introduce you to some of the most well-liked cosmetics that have ever graced the store. 

Fortnite item shop rotation and update timings

The items in Fortnite’s item shop are always changing or “rotating”. If an item you wanted is out of stock, keep checking back since there’s a strong possibility you’ll be able to purchase it later. The item shop refreshes and updates every 24 hours at 5:30am IST, 00:00 UTC, 5:00pm PT, 8:00pm ET.

The cosmetic item shop in Fortnite is huge and changes daily. It may be that an item available today might no longer be there seven days later, such as Fresh, which was one of the most popular emotes long ago but now continues to be one of the most elusive ones. This emote was last seen in the item shop almost 1700 days ago making it one of the rarest items of Fortnite.

Exploring the Fortnite Item Shop categories

The Fortnite Item Shop is a vibrant marketplace where players can purchase cosmetic items to enhance their in-game appearance. These items are categorized into several distinct groups, each offering a unique way to customize your Fortnite experience. Let’s break down these categories:

1. Skins

Fortnite skins now give a distinctive style and form for your player avatar, going beyond simple clothing. They come in four different rarities: uncommon, rare, epic, and legendary. The cost of each of these rarities in V-Bucks, the virtual money used in the game, is fixed.

Aura is the most used skin on Fortnite till date and obviously is also one of the oldest skins in the game. The skins following Aura are Surf Witch, Backlash, Focus, Joltara and Lara Croft respectively. These six are the most used skins in Fortnite.

2. Back Bling

Back Blings are cosmetic items that players may put on the back of their characters in the game’s Battle Royale and Save the World modes. 

The purpose of Back Bling in the game is purely aesthetic and the item does not provide any in-game advantages or affect the character’s performance. The in-game description of Back Blings describes it as ‘not functional’ but ‘trendy’ which is a good way to summarize this aesthetic item’s use.

Black Shield, Wolfpack and Spectral Spine are considered one of the most popular Back Blings in the game.

3. Harvesting Tools (Pickaxes)

The harvesting tool, also referred to as the Pickaxe, plays a crucial role in Fortnite’s resource gathering and construction mechanics. Let’s take a closer look at the significance and variety of harvesting tool in Fortnite.

Harvesting tools have two functions. Although they may be used as weapons, causing 20 damage per hit, their main purpose is to gather items for construction. With the use of the harvesting tool, players may gather necessary  inventories like wood,  brick and metal so they can  make defenses or ramps that will give them an edge in combat. 

The Reaper, AC/ DC, Star Wand, Dark Axe and the Driver are the most popular pickaxes of all time with the Reaper being the most popular

4. Emotes

 Emotes  give gamers a chance to  punctuate their individuality. Players may engage with their  terrain and other players in various intriguing ways by using a number of conditioning,  similar dancing, expressing  feelings, or wishing someone a good day. 

Similar to that of other cosmetic items, Emotes do not provide any in-game advantage and their use is purely cosmetic.

Among the most popular emotes are “Laugh it up,” “Crowning Achievement,” “Get Griddy,” “Steady,” and “Boogie Down.” These emotes allow players to express themselves and celebrate in style.

5. Gliders

Gliders are used by players to glide through the skies after jumping off the Battle Bus or using a Launch Pad. These gliders allow players to descend slowly and with more control,  offering a safe landing while also helping in navigation across the map.

The glider also automatically deploys as the player gets close to the ground ensuring a safe landing spot, provided if the players haven’t deployed the glider beforehand. Players can switch between gliding and skydiving at any time before the glider deploys.

Chapter 2 Season 2 even introduced Rideable Gliders like Bombs Away!, Dragacorn, and Astroworld Cyclone which players can ride from the top rather than hang from the bottom. 

A test element that was incorporated into several game types was the glider re-deploy function which allowed players to re-deploy their gliders when at least three stories. First introduced in the v6.20 update, this feature gave players mobility and the capacity to swiftly reposition themselves. 

The Batglider, First Order TIE Fighter, Goalbound, Royale Dragon and Laser Chomp are among one of the most popular gliders in the game.

6. Bundles

Bundles provide players a complete package to exhibit their identity in the game by combining outfits, back blings, pickaxes, gliders, and emotes. Certain bundles are only available for a short period of time, giving these cosmetic items a sense of exclusivity. 

Fortnite packages also provide fantastic value. for V-Bucks as opposed to buying individual things separately, buying a bundle can be more affordable, making it a desirable choice for gamers trying to maximize their spending power.

The Astronomical Bundle, the Double Agent Bundle and the Last Laugh Bundle are among one of the most popular and most sought after bundles.

Sales figures of the Fortnite Item Shop

Despite the fact that everyone may participate in the action thanks to Fortnite’s free-to-play approach, the game’s astounding profitability has been fueled by the cosmetics available in the Item Shop. Although Fortnite’s developer, Epic Games, has been coy about particular numbers, some information has come to light.

Fortnite released NFL-branded skins during a brief partnership with the NFL, each costing 1,500 V-bucks (about $15). These skins reportedly sold an astounding 3.3 million pieces during their availability, according to Epic Games. From only one set of skins, this corresponds to a staggering $50 million in income. These skins were a testimony to the strength of branding in Fortnite because they resembled NFL clubs but did not include real-life players.

Additionally, Epic Games has revealed the brands having the most valuable partnerships with them: Marvel, Star Wars, and the NFL. The success of these partnerships highlights the Fortnite Item Shop’s enormous profitability.