How does a business create a brand protection strategy while counterfeiting expands at an astonishing rate?
Global counterfeiting is at an all-time high. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) published a research on international trade and counterfeiting in 2019 that put the entire value of fake and piratical goods at little over 3 percent of global trade, or approximately $590 billion USD. By the end of 2022, that amount has more than tripled and reached a staggering 2.3 trillion USD.
Numerous variables, when we consider the last ten years, have contributed to the proliferation of counterfeit goods. The increasing use of e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Alibaba, Etsy, and eBay is one of them. In a 2021 report by Dharmesh Mehta, Amazon’s vice president, worldwide selling partners services, the e-commerce giant detected, seized and destroyed more than two million counterfeit goods that were sent to its fulfilment centers.
Less than 0.01 percent of all products sold on Amazon generated complaints from customers about being counterfeit, according to Mehta’s analysis of the same report. As part of its Counterfeit Crimes Unit, the company also aims to ‘create and report cases to law enforcement, perform independent investigations or cooperative investigations with brands, and pursue civil action against counterfeiters’.
Each of these e-commerce businesses is attempting to stem the tide of fake items that are being sold all over the world by removing listings that are allegedly fake and averting potential legal action from major luxury brands. But at a time when consumers are starting to question the authenticity of many products, not just luxury goods, this is unfortunate. Due to the pandemic, in addition to the most typical categories of counterfeited clothing and luxury goods confiscated, there is an increasing trade in fake goods which has the potential risk on humans’ health, such as counterfeit medicines, food and beverages, cosmetics and toys.
In order to determine whether consumers’ need for authentic products isn’t just confined to luxury goods, Censuswide conducted a poll of consumers in the US and the UK. According to the report, 40% of customers think that the sale of counterfeit goods has increased as a result of internet shopping. In addition, this study discovered that 67% of buyers worry about the product’s authenticity while purchasing items for their homes and families. 56% of buyers are concerned that the new products they are buying might be counterfeits. This concern materialized in the United States during a scarcity of infant formula in early 2022, when the market was overrun with fake goods sold with falsified labels. Many parents were left with packages of formula that had expired or contained substances that would be harmful to infants who needed a specific diet due to certain allergies or intolerances. This is the point where brand owners should start paying attention to the security measures they’re doing to guarantee that only authentic products are delivered to a consumer’s home.
Advast Suisse provides an extensive selection of solutions and security features, both visible and invisible, as well as digital-based security technologies like RFID, NFC and authentication solutions based on QR codes such as valuesafe®, which offers for more than just security, bringing traceability to the product itself to see each step on its path in the supply chain.
Advast Suisse is your expert partner for holistic solutions in the field of brand protection, product authentication, counterfeit protection, and tamper-proof sealing providing forgery-proof cutting-edge brand- and counterfeit protection solutions. The experts at Advast Suisse are always available to provide you with personalized guidance and industry knowledge. From project planning to execution, our team provides you with skilled advice and support at every stage, from concept development, through implementation, to the market launch of your solution, and beyond.
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