In today’s market scenario, online shopping trends are taking over the minds of the consumers. With the deep penetration of internet and wide availability of smartphones, people have become addicted to e-commerce apps. Perhaps, the biggest advantages of online shopping include convenience, a vast amount of choices, offers and discounts.
According to the Indian Brand Equity Foundation, “India is the fastest growing market for the E-Commerce sector. Revenue from the sector is expected to increase from US$ 39billion in 2017 to US$120 billion in 2020, growing at an annual rate of 51 per cent, the highest in the world. E-Commerce industry in India witnessed 21 private equity firm and venture capital deals worth US$ 2.1 billion in 2017 and 40 deals worth US$ 1,2
Lately, online shopping is facing the menace of counterfeiting. Counterfeiters and forgers are selling a huge amount of fakes on popular e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal among others. A recent survey by Local Circles a citizen engagement platform everyone in three online shoppers has received a fake item.
According to an article published in ET Now, “Most consumers are able to identify counterfeit products by either recognizing that the product is different from what they had ordered or through the packaging or colour, the Velocity MR survey showed. Industry members said that often consumers may not even identify counterfeit products, which would otherwise take the number of such cases much higher.”
Due to the sale of fake products, e-commerce players are facing a tarnished brand image, loss of consumer trust and most importantly sales and profits.
In order to secure their products against counterfeiting e-commerce players can take the following steps:
- E-commerce should make the use of anti-counterfeiting packaging mandatory and must ensure that all third-party sellers abide by this.
- The combination of digital and physical anti-counterfeiting technologies can ward off duplication to a large extent in e-commerce.
- E-commerce players must ensure proper and timely monitoring of third-party sellers for the presence of any fake products.
