Barcelona, November 14th – New survey findings by Red Points, the Barcelona-based company offering the leading all-in-one SaaS solution for detecting and enforcing online IP infringements, reveals that millennials aren’t safe ahead of Black Friday, with impulse buyers twice more likely to buy fakes by accident. The study highlights the potential counterfeit risk related to impulsive versus planned online shopping on Black Friday. Over 1,000 US millennials were surveyed for the study.
With 27 percent of respondents saying they will be making impulsive purchases on Black Friday based on the promotional offers they see on the day, they are at risk of falling for fraudsters’ enticing promotional offers. In fact, out of the respondents admitting to previously buying fakes online on Black Friday, 62.7 percent did so by mistake when impulse buying compared to 37.2 percent for planned purchases.
Interesting, most impulse shoppers who had bought fakes had predominantly done so via social media sites (26,2%), the same platforms where impulse buyers say they will make their purchases this Black Friday.
Additionally, Red Points’ analysts identified an average 16 percent surge in infringements volume from October to November 2017 for its clients’ online listings, which shows that this time of the year is favored by counterfeiters. Meanwhile, the survey also found that 1 in 4 shoppers overly rely on reviews and comments to evaluate a product’s authenticity (23%), when these can be easily manipulated.
Commenting on the survey findings, Laura Urquizu CEO of Red Points says, “Our new report offers some alarming insights into millennials’ shopping habits leading them to counterfeits. Many millennials no longer shop off a list and tend to make purchases based on impulse, which puts them at greater risk of falling for fakes.”
‘With Black Friday featuring highly on counterfeiters’ agenda, this price-focused approach can prove extremely costly for both shoppers and retailers alike. For brands, this can translate in loss of sales and profits whilst consumers may be exposed to potentially harmful products with substandard quality.”
“Ultimately, brands need to lead the way when it comes to consumer education to ensure shoppers are not being led astray. However, it’s loud and clear from our findings that not all consumers are created equal, so companies need to invest in a tailored brand protection approach fit for all different types of shoppers to ensure all aspects of the ever-changing buyers’ journey are covered.”
In terms of popular purchases, 24% of respondents said they plan on buying electronics products on Black Friday, the fastest growing category of counterfeited goods*, this also poses a significant safety risk for shoppers. In fact, it’s estimated that one in every 10 IT products sold worldwide may be fake, with smartphones, computers, and tablets ranking among the most counterfeited items.
