AI is Fueling the Boom in Counterfeit Shopping, New Study Finds
Fake e-shops spike as GenAI shatters technical barriers and boosts fraudulent social ads by 179%
NEW YORK, May 7, 2025 (Newswire.com) - A first-of-its-kind study has revealed a startling new reality: AI is not only powering online shopping-it's also making it easier than ever for Americans to buy counterfeits.
According to -The Counterfeit Buyer Teardown- the largest-ever study of US counterfeit e-commerce, 28% of consumers who bought knock-off products online say they used AI tools to assist in their search. And this trend is accelerating: over half (56%) of all surveyed shoppers have used AI to help assist with product selection, with nearly a third turning to it more than once.
Conducted by market research firm agency OnePoll and AI company Red Points, the study analyzed behaviors from 2,000 U.S. consumers who knowingly or unknowingly purchased counterfeit goods in the past two years, along with insights from 1,000 brands.
"As counterfeiters adopt advanced tools like AI, the fight against fakes is becoming more complex and more urgent," said Laura Urquizu, CEO & President of Red Points. "We're now seeing AI shape both the threat and the solution. In 2024 alone, Red Points detected 4.3 million counterfeit infringements online-an alarming 15% increase year-over-year."
Key Findings That Challenge Conventional Wisdom
AI is Changing the Game: Enabled by GenAI tools, fraudulent websites are blasting, projected to increase 70% year-over-year in 2025. Gen X is leading the AI-powered shopping search trend, with 37% using AI to find knock-offs online.
Not Just Cheap Fakes: Counterfeit goods are typically 31-38% cheaper than genuine items-far from the "too good to be true" prices many expect.
Accidental Luxury: Despite popular belief, 1 in 4 fake luxury purchases happens unintentionally.
Intentionally Scammed? While 46% of respondents said they bought counterfeits accidentally, 39% said they purchased them knowingly, and 15% said they had both experiences.
The Counterfeit Consumer Breakdown
One of the most striking findings: 61% of counterfeit buyers didn't know the product was fake until it arrived. These accidental buyers are often lured by convincing product photos (57%) or listings that mimic real brands (47%).
Meanwhile, intentional buyers exhibit more proactive behaviors:
52% used search engines to find fakes
More likely to shop via desktop (43%) and even voice assistants (18%), even though mobile is the preferred buying device (43%) by both intentional and accidental consumers
Millennials (34%) and Gen X (30%) were most influenced by social media in their decisions to buy knock-offs- particularly when it came to influencer promotions, which 31% of shoppers admitted drove their decision to buy a fake.
The Platforms Enabling Fakes
50% of all counterfeit goods were purchased on U.S.-based marketplaces
43% came from Chinese marketplaces
34% were bought from fake websites-many discovered via social media ads (39%) or profiles/posts (49%)
According to Red Points' platform, between 2023 and 2024, the number of social media ads redirecting to infringing websites surged by 179%.
Source: Red Points Solutions SL
