Study Reveals Expected Spike in Counterfeits This Holiday Shopping Season

NEW YORK — November 24, 2020 — Brand intelligence leader, Red Points, released a national study, which reveals U.S. shoppers’ sentiment around holiday shopping this year.

This Black Friday will be unlike any other and will almost certainly set precedence for how retailers approach Black Friday, holiday sales events and doorbuster deals well beyond the pandemic. Amid a global health crisis, shoppers have reasons to avoid jam-packed stores and crowds—but still expect to snag deeply discounted merchandise. With the expected domination of online shopping this holiday, retailers must take all precautions necessary to safeguard their brand reputation throughout Q4.

“At a time when businesses are looking to recoup recent losses, ensuring brand protection will be essential to protecting retailers’ bottom line this holiday shopping season,” said Daniel Shapiro, VP of strategic partnerships and brand relationships at Red Points.

Some of the key findings from the study are:

• 65 percent of shoppers are likely to spend more online for Black Friday this year than the previous year.
• 26 percent of respondents have purchased counterfeits on Black Friday.
• Almost half of respondents who have bought fakes would write cautionary reviews about where they purchased it from.

Counterfeiters and infringers pose a monetary and reputational threat to brands and ecommerce platforms. Although counterfeits are not the fault of the brand, people are less likely to give brands a second chance after purchasing a counterfeit product.

Click here to watch Red Points’ webinar with Jay Kennedy, a Forbes contributor, to get exclusive insights on:

• New consumers’ shopping trends you should have on your radar this year
• How to best prepare your ecommerce business for Black Friday
• Top preemptive brand protection measures you can implement today to protect your IP online

CEO & Partner Laura Urquizu joined Red Points in 2014 and shifted the company to the current SaaS business model. Since then, Red Points has grown exponentially.  Thanks to a strong leadership team, here at Red Points, we’ve been able to build an impressive technological product portfolio and develop a disruptive business model.  We have continued to expand, raising over $64 million in investment and pushing Red Points’ technology to the cutting edge of brand protection. Red Points has opened offices in New York and Salt Lake City as well as Beijing, and we are now the fastest-growing brand protection solution in the world.