Today in Data: Forever 21 Goes Meta, NFTs as Impulse Buys, Online Sales Boost Holiday

Nonfungible tokens (NFTs) are becoming big business as impulse buys for some shoppers, and Forever 21 is diving deeper into the metaverse. Plus, online sales were a bigger part of buying holiday gifts this year, and will be more important for returns too.

Data:

8.5%: Growth in retail sales from Nov. 1-Dec. 24

63%: Share of holiday gift recipients planning to return at least one gift

$900B: Roblox revenue through February 2021

16%: Share of Forever 21’s sales that came through eCommerce before COVID-19 pandemic

$27B: Amount spent on nonfungible tokens (NFTs) in 2021 through October