If a rising tide lifts all boats, that must also apply to counterfeit products on ecommerce and social sites. What happens when digital advertising gets thrown into the mix to sell the counterfeit products? 

Ecommerce became one of the fastest-growing segments for retail in North America and Europe in 2020, driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for goods and services, many unattainable in brick-and-mortar stores.

U.S. sales from ecommerce in 2020 were estimated to reach $794.5 billion — up 32% year-on-year, according to eMarketer.

As ecommerce continues to grow, it is estimated that the global, economic value of counterfeiting and piracy could reach $4.2 trillion by 2022, placing 5.4 million legitimate jobs at risk during the same period, according to a study released by Incopro.

“While we regularly hear from brands that repeat offenders are a challenge, we were surprised by the scale of issues that are driven by a small proportion of offenders, with only 3% of the most egregious offenders responsible for over 20% of issues,” said Piers Barclay, chief strategy officer at Incopro.

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Three Strikes and Out: How E-commerce Marketplaces Can Protect Consumers from Repeat Breachers

Incopro’s white paper provides brands, e-commerce platforms and legislators with data on the proportion of repeat infringements undertaken by the same sellers, who use key global online marketplaces and social media platforms to infringe intellectual property. Learn how platforms can protect brands and consumers can by implementing strong seller verification and a 'three-strikes-and-out' policy.

Access the paper