Counterfeits are propelled by current social standards that come with westernization.

Luxury is a term associated with the products that are prestigious to those who use them. Although luxury can be subjective to one’s well-being, social status, and excellence of power one holds — in association with brands, it is often linked with the products designed and developed by world-leading renowned brands. Luxury items are often — as per a research conducted by the Association of Consumer Research by the title of “Why do consumers buy counterfeit luxury brands?” — associated with social-adjustive attitudes and value-expressive attributes of a consumer.

Social-adjustive attitude defines the need of consumers in favour of the form and image of a product, which is directly linked to the social appeal function. In contrast, the value-expressive is associated with intrinsic aspects like quality and reliability.

The counterfeiting of luxury items falls under the umbrella of social-adjustive function, where customers are lured more by the appearance of a product than its reliability and quality. However, customers do seek quality in counterfeits as well but are okay with the slightly meagre quality of the products.

Why has counterfeiting become more prevalent in the luxury industry?

The prime reason for a customer to look for a duped Chanel bag, a fake Swiss Rolex, or a counterfeit Nike is to gain social acceptance with the trends and the sought-after products recently launched by these big brands. But as these products are limitedly produced — keeping in mind the exclusivity by the brands — it becomes difficult for a middle-class consumer to buy any such products for both price and availability.