Entrupy data finds counterfeiting levels likely static in 2021

Brand protection specialist Entrupy says that despite a doubling in the number of authentications of products using its platform last year over 2020, the number of suspect or counterfeit results has stayed the same – at around 8 per cent.

The data is drawn from 23 million product images taken using Entrupy's vision-based authentication platform, which combines microscopic surface features of an item into a digital fingerprint – stored on a database – that can be interrogated using artificial intelligence to verify a product is genuine.

For sneakers – one of Entrupy's core product categories – the rate of items that could not be confirmed as authentic was 16 per cent, which the company said is "is partially driven by the relative ease with which counterfeiters can create sneakers of high enough quality to require advanced, technology-driven verification versus luxury goods, which are much more difficult and costly to produce."

The two brands most likely to generate a failed test where Nike's Jordan and Adidas' Yeezy footwear, at 15.9 per cent and 15.6 per cent, respectively.

Other findings in the report were that the proportion of products that could not be verified as authentic sold through consumer-to-consumer (C2C) marketplaces fell from 10.8 per cent in 2019 to 5.5 per cent, which Entrupy attributes to greater effort by the platforms to introduce processes and technologies that try to prevent fake listings.

The brand with the highest level of suspect products last year was Goyard – at 21.4 per cent of authentications – followed by Dior, Prada, Gucci and Fendi, says the analysis.

"The limited number of points of sale combined with an intentionally small supply for authentic Goyard items is the main contributor to this high rate, as people without access to the real items will turn to counterfeits to sate their desires," according to Entrupy.

Higher than average unidentified rates were found in Italy (21 per cent), Philippines (20 per cent) and Vietnam (15 per cent), which the report suggests is linked to Italy's position as a hub for fashion brands, and the latter two countries' proximity to counterfeit production centres in China.

"Entrupy's position as an impartial provider of truth to some of the largest players in the resale ecosystem enables us to uniquely offer observations about the current realities of the manufacture and sale of counterfeit products," commented Vidyuth Srinivasan, the company's co-founder and chief executive.

"By providing objective, data-backed insights along with cultivated research from reputable sources, we aim to help stakeholders better understand some of the trust issues impacting the industry and how, by working together, we can reduce the risks and increase confidence needed to grow the entire resale ecosystem," he added.