Some 45 percent of shoppers worry about unintentionally buying imitation goods over the winter holiday, according to the latest research from MarkMonitor, a brand protection company. Despite the fact that 91pc said they wouldn’t knowingly buy a counterfeit product as a Christmas present, nearly one in three say they have been duped into buying a fake product.
This figure is up 35pc from similar MarkMonitor research in 2016 that found 23pc of consumers had unintentionally bought a fake product. Of the 31pc of shoppers who unwittingly bought a fake, more than one-third (34pc) said they had done so two to three times. Another 11pc said it had happened between three and five times, while 5pc stated that it had happened more than five times. In addition, half of shoppers said these fake products had been bought as holiday gifts.
Chrissie Jamieson, vice president of marketing at MarkMonitor, a brand of Clarivate Analytics, says: “It’s that time of year once again when consumers are on the hunt for the best gifts. As savvy shoppers, they use the internet to search for bargains. Unfortunately, this opens them up to a lot of risk from counterfeiters, who use the same channels to sell their products and dupe shoppers. The problem is escalating with the addition of new social media platforms and apps, all of which can be used by counterfeiters.”
Shoppers were most confident in their online safety when it came to purchasing via online marketplaces (86pc), links in search results (67pc) and smartphone apps (56pc). However, the first two were also identified as channels through which fake goods were purchased — with online marketplaces at 42pc, links in search results at 15pc and social media at 10pc.
Most, 86pc of consumers believe brands should be doing more to protect them from buying fake goods. This is evident in follow-up actions shoppers say they take after accidentally buying a fake product: 44pc warn family and friends about the brand, 25pc stop spending on the brand and 22pc said their perception of the brand was negatively affected.
Jamieson says: “Research shows that shoppers are conscious of the counterfeiting threat, and some have even fallen victim to it — on more than one occasion. What is also telling is that, increasingly, consumers believe that brands need to do more to protect them from the presence of fake goods on the Internet. The impact on shoppers is significant as they lose money, are inconvenienced and could even be subjected to health risks. For brands, there is reputational damage, loss of revenue and customer trust to consider. All of these issues reinforce the point that while consumers should be more vigilant when shopping online, businesses must do all they can to protect themselves and their customers.”
About the research
Commissioned by MarkMonitor and conducted by independent survey company Vitreous World, a sample of 3,455 adults from nine countries were surveyed, including the UK, US, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. Interviews were done online in November 2017.
To read the full report visit: www.markmonitor.com/counterfeiting-concerns-barometer.
