Amazon Prime Day is set to triple purchases of counterfeit goods as consumers are more likely to accidentally buy fake products on Amazon during the 48-year hour rush for a bargain, says a new report by Red Points.
The Amazon Survey Report was conducted in June to find out how buying behaviour changes in the midst of a sale, using Amazon Prime Day as a key reference point for this type of behavioural change. Red Points surveyed more than 2,000 US consumers aged 18+ in all 50 states.
Some 33.3% of the surveyed US shoppers admit to having purchased a counterfeit product during Prime Day. That’s up from 10% of respondents who have bought a fake product during a non-promotional event on Amazon.
Fear of missing out (FOMO) a discount pushes shoppers to buy counterfeit goods
The report attributes the phenomenon to the fear of missing out on a discount.
The fear of missing out on a discount has 32% of consumers purchasing clothes without doing any research. Some 68.9% of US shoppers aged between 18-44 years old feel pressured to buy an item quicker when there is a sale. This percentage is down to 50% for older shoppers, aged 45+.
Fake products shoppers most likely to bag
The top three categories of goods purchased during a flash sale with limited stock that consumers later found to be counterfeit are electronics (30.7%), fashion accessories (21.1%) and clothes (18.6%).
The majority (73.8%) of shoppers feel “most comfortable” buying discounted products on Amazon without conducting prior research, highlighting a demand for an effortless shopping experience. That’s down to 47% in comparison to a brand’s website.
These findings underline customers’ trust in Amazon as a reputable marketplace. However, Amazon are currently facing an attack on their reputation, with some merchants ‘masquerading’ fake goods as genuine.
On the other hand, diligent sellers have an opportunity to capitalise on the sales of genuine goods. Consumer trust is vital to building a lifetime customer value. Sellers who chose to be honest with their customers, get customer loyalty in return. That is, long-term value over short-term sales.
Amazon response
In response an Amazon spokesperson said “This is a shameful stunt from Red Points designed specifically to market to clients. The survey has incorrect conclusions based on flawed methodology. Lacking any real data on customer purchases, Red Points makes unfounded claims based on survey respondents trying to recall what they bought a year ago. We stand behind the products in our store and ferociously protect the customer experience every single day. If a customer has a concern, they can contact us for a full refund. In 2018 alone, we invested more than $400M to protect customers and brands and more than 99.9% of pages viewed by customers never had a notice of infringement. Rather than using these clickbait tactics to garner clients, we encourage Red Points to continue working with us to protect brands and customers. Brands can use our free tools to protect their IP in our store and we invite them to work with us to stop bad actors through joint litigation and law enforcement referrals.”
