With over 100 million views, has TikTok become a platform for promoting counterfeit products?

According to foreign media reports, more and more big-brand imitation enthusiasts are emerging in the TikTok community, and their "good stuff" promotional videos have received tens of millions of views.

In early November last year , fashion blog StyleCaster did a video on the "World of DHGate" on TikTok, which mentioned that "copycat designer bags" were "showed off" by influencers on TikTok and were praised by viewers for their "reasonable price tags."

Such videos can also be recommended to users through TikTok’s “For You” page, and many of the replicas in the videos are purchased by these content creators through the Chinese e-commerce market DHgate , and occasionally through Amazon and AliExpress . Often these replica promotion videos are grouped under the hashtags #dhgate, #dupe , and #replica , which have been viewed an astonishing 148 million times, 181 million times , and 52 million times, respectively.

Such imitation recommendation videos also contribute to the "success" of TikTok content creators.

For example, a 20-year-old TikTok content creator @TheBarbieAri has more than 60,000 followers . Among all the videos posted by this account, except for the counterfeit recommendation videos that can get more than 100,000 views, most of the videos have no more than 10,000 views.

In addition, @TheBarbieAri's video introducing Louis Vuitton and Chanel counterfeits has even received more than 4 million views, and her video introducing fake Nike sneakers purchased for $50 through DHgate has also received nearly 50,000 comments. In addition to being committed to introducing the quality of counterfeits, @TheBarbieAri has also set up a product link folder for fans for the counterfeits she purchased on DHgate.

Therefore, higher traffic attracted more TikTok imitation content creators, resulting in an endless stream of imitation-related videos.

However, where do such high views and attention on videos related to counterfeits come from?

To answer this question, we first need to understand the consumption preferences of TikTok’s main user groups: Generation Z (1997-2012) and Millennials (1982-2000).

Some Generation Z consumers said that their generation experienced the economic pressure brought about by the Great Depression, which made them more inclined to rational and cautious consumption concepts and hope to buy durable products at affordable prices.

This may also explain why the number of consumers in Generation Z who purchase second-hand retail goods increased by 46% from 2017 to 2019, and second-hand trading platforms such as Depop and Poshmark have also become popular among this age group.

Another reason may be that the development of social media has given rise to the demand for taking photos among young people. Growing up in an environment where social media is booming, Generation Z may be the generation that loves taking photos the most so far. In order to take more beautiful photos, they need to wear multiple sets of clothes. However, they are also constrained by their financial ability, so cheaper imitations have become the best choice.

Although it is not a glorious thing to make and sell brand imitations, sellers can also see the real needs of contemporary young people from this consumption trend, that is, affordable, fashionable and durable products . Although the cost may be a huge mountain in front of sellers, creating timeless, unique and high-quality products can eventually "recapture" the younger generation of consumers from the "imitation" trend!

Sellers must not follow the trend and sell counterfeit and shoddy products. Not only do major e-commerce platforms prohibit sales, but even TikTok has made regulations strictly prohibiting infringement of any patents, trademarks, copyrights or other proprietary rights. And once you step into the trap of infringement, you often can only lose both the wife and the army.

Although temporary benefits may seem tempting, they are not a plan for long-term development!

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