This holiday season beware of internet fakes

Online shopping can be convenient during the holiday season, but those who use the internet to buy gifts should be aware of sites selling fake goods.
 
About one in five online shoppers in the U.S. and Europe have mistakenly shopped for counterfeit goods on the internet, according to a study from Nielsen and MarkMonitor, coming across fakes as they search for the best deals on legitimate products.
 
The study showed that encountering counterfeit goods online can happen to anyone; the demographic profiles of those who search legitimate sites only compared to rogue sites are very similar.
 
For example, within the panel the study analyzed, 37 percent of those who searched for products on legitimate sites had an annual household income below $50,000, compared to 38 percent of those who found themselves on rogue sites.
 
Likewise, 41 percent of legitimate site shoppers had an income between $50,000 and $100,000, similar to the 39 percent of folks who visited rogue sites.
 
Yet those who tend to visit rogue sites appear to be more active online. Consumers who searched sites selling fake goods browsed twice as many shopping sites overall versus those who visited legitimate retailers only.

For more findings from the study click here.
 

Tags: consumers, counterfeit shopping, deals, europe, holiday, holiday season, household, internet, nielsen, nielsen study, online, online counterfeit shopping, online shopping, shopping, studies, study, Study One, U.S.