Influencers have made social media a booming market for counterfeit items, study finds

Social media influencers are facilitating the commerce in counterfeit items, in response to new analysis by Portsmouth University.

After analysing surveys of two,000 individuals within the UK, the study crew discovered round 22% of customers who’re lively on social media have purchased counterfeits endorsed by influencers. The researchers imagine it’s the first-ever estimate of its form. They warn that counterfeiters are exploiting the recognition of influencers to hawk dangerous merchandise.

“Counterfeit products injure and kill hundreds of thousands of people across the world,”  Dr David Shepherd,  the study’s lead creator, stated in a assertion. “The working conditions in the counterfeit factories are unsafe with subsistence-level wages. Don’t be fooled by social media influencers.”

Their doubtful charms are significantly interesting to younger individuals and males. According to the study, individuals between 16 and 13 years previous are 3 times as prone to buy endorsed counterfeits as these aged 34 to 60. Males, in the meantime, accounted for 70% of all of the consumers.

The researchers attribute these inclinations to particular traits.

The customers tended to have a low-risk consciousness, a high-risk urge for food, and a propensity to morally justify counterfeit purchases, resulting from components such because the excessive costs of real manufacturers. They additionally had a broader vulnerability to affect. Buyers of endorsed counterfeits have been twice as inclined to the affect of buddies and social media.

“Social commerce is the new frontier for marketing, and the social media influencers are the new royalty,” Professor Mark Button, the study’s co-author, stated. “Consumers in this marketplace often rely on remote recommendations by third parties, and these influencers have increasingly replaced the customers’ own evaluations of purchasing risk.”

While the brand new analysis solely covers the UK, the findings spotlight a world drawback.

Influencers and e-commerce have made social media a international catalogue for counterfeit items, with deep social and financial impacts. According to a study by the EU’s Intellectual Property Office counterfeits reminiscent of baggage, clothes, and electrical items value the bloc €60bn and 434,000 job losses yearly.

“This study raises serious concerns about the impact of deviant influencer marketing on consumer behaviour, particularly among vulnerable demographics,” stated Button. “It is crucial for brands, regulators, and law enforcement agencies to take action and disrupt the activities of these illicit influencers and the networks that support them.”

You can learn the open-access study in the Deviant Behaviour Journal.