Boost in e-commerce may lead to more counterfeits: study

Dive Brief:

A new survey from Red Points found that 65% of shoppers anticipate shopping more online on Black Friday this year than last. Of those surveyed, 26% have previously bought knockoff items on Black Friday.
More than half of survey respondents said they would ask for a refund for counterfeit purchases, and nearly half would also write cautionary reviews about the merchant who sold the item, per the survey.
The survey also found that 70% of consumers said they will shop on online marketplaces like eBay and Amazon. Among the common items on their shopping lists are clothing and accessories (57%), tech and electronics (25%) and toys and games (22%).

Dive Insight:

With an expected increase in online shopping and customers potentially focusing more on price this year given the pandemic, some shoppers may fall victim to merchants selling fake goods. That can harm the real brands, Daniel Shapiro, vice president of strategic partnerships and brand relationships at Red Points, stated.

"At a time when businesses are looking to recoup recent losses, ensuring brand protection will be essential to protecting retailers' bottom line this holiday shopping season," Shapiro said in a statement.

Consumers were concerned about counterfeit goods long before the holiday season kicked off. Back in March, another report from Red Points found that 68% of consumers were worried about buying fake or low-quality goods online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

And though online marketplaces have introduced a range of authentication measures, retailers and trade groups joined the Buy Safe America Coalition in September in part to advocate for online marketplace regulations and protect consumers from buying counterfeits. "America's largest apparel companies share our mission to protect consumers and communities and are urging Congress to pass basic transparency and verification requirements to make it harder for bad actors to peddle stolen and counterfeit goods," Michael Hanson, spokesperson for the coalition, said at the time.

While many consumers don't know that they're buying counterfeit items, some are actually willing to buy knockoffs as a way to align themselves with a brand without paying full price.