The purchase journeys of today’s consumers vary radically from their predecessor for a simple reason: contemporary buyers tend to devote a considerable amount of time in product research, and also expect a seamless product purchase experience across any platform, whether shopping online, in-store, or via a mobile app. Hyperconnectivity and consumerism are today fuelling the retail industry like never before, but with this plethora of buying options also comes a higher risk of being exposed to fake goods. In the last 2-3 years, ecommerce majors operating in India have been pulled up, time and again, for unknowingly harbouring unauthorized sellers in their marketplaces.
The online marketplace model - a risk factor for fake product listing
This is exacerbated by the widespread use of the online marketplace model, rather than the e-commerce company owning and managing inventories. While these companies are focussed primarily on facilitating the transaction, they are still exposed to the risk of their marketplaces being contaminated with unauthorised sellers listing unauthenticated goods. These sellers are able to thrive off the marketplace model by offering buyers legitimate pictures and low prices, while remaining anonymous. This is a formidable challenge for online marketplaces, brand owners, and regulators.
The adverse impact of e-retail fake listing Imitation merchandise is a major issue that the ecommerce sector faces today. On the consumer side, the loss can be minor, in the case of categories like apparel and accessories. Or, it can cause long-term health conditions or injuries, in the case of fake cosmetics that use toxic chemicals and harmful substances, or a lookalike consumer electronic product which uses inferior parts. Such consumer scenarios are what has led the e commerce majors to proactively address the fake listings of goods head-on.
The adverse impact of e-retail fake listing Imitation merchandise is a major issue that the ecommerce sector faces today. On the consumer side, the loss can be minor, in the case of categories like apparel and accessories. Or, it can cause long-term health conditions or injuries, in the case of fake cosmetics that use toxic chemicals and harmful substances, or a lookalike consumer electronic product which uses inferior parts. Such consumer scenarios are what has led the e commerce majors to proactively address the fake listings of goods head-on.
GS1 standards are tackling fake listings
Global standards organisation -- GS1 -- has addressed the problem of fake product listings. The company’s GTIN Validation service allows retailers and e-tailers to authenticate products on a global registry of product information populated by brand owners & manufacturers from across the globe.
The service enables retailers to validate the product data through the 13-digit GTIN number allotted by GS1 organisations across the globe. It will provide authenticated information on products and allow retailers to cross-verify information in their databases. At the moment, the GS1 Global Registry has 35 million Global Trade Identification Number (GTINs) across the globe with 10 million GTINs from India. As a result, it can ensure transparency of information on CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods).
How GTIN Validation by GS1 works
The product information will be populated by brand owners so that retailers will be able to unauthorised/ fake product listings, authenticate the products and also product classification for efficient listing on the platforms. Brand owners provide seven attributes to uniquely identify products: Global Trade Item Number or GTIN); Brand name; Product Description; Product Image URL; Global Product Category (or GPC); Net Content & Unit of Measure; and Country of Sale.
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