Unifab asked Ifop to conduct a survey on the French and the dangers of counterfeiting. The barometer revealed that 29% of French people had already purchased counterfeit products, down 6 points on 2005. At the same time, it is important to point out that 37% have been deceived into buying genuine goods.
The French are now aware that fakes affect all areas of life, and 9 out of 10 people are now aware that buying counterfeit goods involves a risk, revealing a better understanding of the phenomenon.
It is nevertheless regrettable that the Internet plays a major role in this illicit traffic, since it is the 2nd channel for counterfeit purchases, ex-æquo with street sales, behind fairs and markets. One out of every two purchasers of counterfeit goods on the Internet goes to a counterfeit via a search engine. These factors could have a detrimental effect on the growth of the digital economy, as consumers lose confidence in the security of products on the web.
The French now associate counterfeiting with negative consequences, whether in terms of the quality of the products purchased, the feeding of the underground economy, the dangers to themselves or the despoiling of authentic brands.
Finally, the consumers surveyed now have a more realistic view of what illegal Internet downloading is: for more than half of them, it’s an act of counterfeiting.
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