Rolex tops list of most searched for fakes

UK consumers are continuing to search for fake luxury brands in large numbers and some have more appeal to label-hungry shoppers than others. In fact, Rolex is the most wanted label for those seeking fakes online, a new study has shown. Behind Rolex are Louis Vuitton in second place and Gucci third.

Counterfeits continue to be a huge problem that plagues premium and luxury brands across the fashion sector and interest in them has stayed high, despite pandemic disruptions.

The research, conducted by Uswitch, used Ahrefs search tool to calculate the number of annual online searches for fake brands and counterfeit versions of authentic products. It discovered more than a quarter of a million (228,000) online searches are made for ‘fake Rolex’ a year.

'Fake Louis Vuitton' is searched for 118,800 times a year with 36,000 annual searches specially for fake Vuitton designer bags, putting it in the top spot for this product category.

Meanwhile for Gucci, 87,600 online searches for imitation versions of its products are made annually.

With travel curtailed so consumers can't visit knock-off hotspots, and with physical shopping at markets or stores where fakes can be found having been largely off the agenda in the past 18 months, online searches are very good indicators of exactly what consumers are prioritising in terms of fakes.

The top names are all heritage brands, but some newer labels are also hot when it comes to knock-offs. Some way behind the top three are fourth-placed Yeezy on 37,200 searches, ahead of Crocs (25,200), Nike (22,800), Balenciaga (21,600), Off-White (20,400), Vans (15,600) and Adidas (14,400).

That’s the top 10. Looking further out at the top 20, we also find Converse, Chanel, Versace, Ray-Ban, Burberry, Prada, Michael Kors, Moncler, Calvin Klein and The North Face.

The most wanted counterfeit product of all is a Gucci belt, with 56,400 annual searches.

Gucci actually has four slots in the top 10 list of most wanted products with ‘fake Gucci slides’ second on the list, ‘fake Gucci shirt’ fourth and ‘fake Gucci T-shirt’ rounding off the top 10 list in 10th position.

Also popular are the Yeezy Boost 350 in third place, a Louis Vuitton wallet fifth, ahead of Balenciaga Triple S, Louis Vuitton belt, Yeezy SPLY 350, and Louis Vuitton backpack.

As mentioned, Louis Vuitton is most in demand for counterfeit bags, but Gucci is second, Prada third and Chanel fourth. They’re followed by Michael Kors, Chloé, YSL, Celine, Hermès and Valentino.

Rolex tops list of most searched for fakes

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