Instagram has long been the kind of social media platform where you can post pictures of products that you might be selling and potentially find customers that would interested in what you are offering. This is something that has benefited a lot of small businesses, and the general reception of Instagram as a place where eCommerce can be encouraged has been more or less positive since it allowed there to be a lot more competition which the algorithm of the social media platform generally tended to support.
However, NBC news recently conducted a research that would put a dent in Instagram’s reputation, at least to some extent. This research essentially showed that some accounts on Instagram are being used to sell counterfeit luxury items. This includes products like shoes, handbags, watches and clothes, and the counterfeits claim to belong to big name, brands such as Gucci, Chanel and Louis Vuitton. This news is coming at a bad time because of the fact that Instagram has recently been planning to shift towards a more e-commerce oriented approach, something that appears to be a company wide shift with Facebook turning all of its properties towards this sector and potentially giving Amazon a real run for its money.
Related: 10 Most Common Social Media Scams and How to Spot Them
Photo: Prateek Katyal
This revelation is definitely going to make things a little complicated for Instagram because of the fact that the companies that are being cheated through these counterfeits are understandable upset that this is being allowed to happen. The thing is, it’s not just that these blunders are being allowed to happen. Sometimes things happen and they can be dealt with, so this is not the problem that these big name brands actually have at this point in time. The real problem is that when Instagram is being contacted so that the issue can be dealt with, the social media platform has failed to respond to the situation properly.
The research that was conducted basically involved a team analyzing images of high end products, and it ascertained that there were about 56,000 accounts on Instagram that are currently involved with trying to sell counterfeit products. The truly concerning aspect is that the last time that this research was conducted back in 2016 the number was closer to 21,000, which means that in the past three years the number of accounts selling counterfeit products on Instagram has more than doubled.
This shows a concerning trend, and it is a problem that Instagram will have to look into and take very seriously. Instagram did address the research, stating that they have a very firm policy against the sale of counterfeit products. However, up until this point the people in charge at Instagram have failed to take action. Action will have to be taken swiftly so that big name brands would feel comfortable with their products being sold on Instagram, so this is a problem that the company is definitely going to have to handle as soon as possible.
Read next: Instagram is slowly becoming a new home for Bots and Scammers!
However, NBC news recently conducted a research that would put a dent in Instagram’s reputation, at least to some extent. This research essentially showed that some accounts on Instagram are being used to sell counterfeit luxury items. This includes products like shoes, handbags, watches and clothes, and the counterfeits claim to belong to big name, brands such as Gucci, Chanel and Louis Vuitton. This news is coming at a bad time because of the fact that Instagram has recently been planning to shift towards a more e-commerce oriented approach, something that appears to be a company wide shift with Facebook turning all of its properties towards this sector and potentially giving Amazon a real run for its money.
Related: 10 Most Common Social Media Scams and How to Spot Them
Photo: Prateek Katyal
This revelation is definitely going to make things a little complicated for Instagram because of the fact that the companies that are being cheated through these counterfeits are understandable upset that this is being allowed to happen. The thing is, it’s not just that these blunders are being allowed to happen. Sometimes things happen and they can be dealt with, so this is not the problem that these big name brands actually have at this point in time. The real problem is that when Instagram is being contacted so that the issue can be dealt with, the social media platform has failed to respond to the situation properly.
The research that was conducted basically involved a team analyzing images of high end products, and it ascertained that there were about 56,000 accounts on Instagram that are currently involved with trying to sell counterfeit products. The truly concerning aspect is that the last time that this research was conducted back in 2016 the number was closer to 21,000, which means that in the past three years the number of accounts selling counterfeit products on Instagram has more than doubled.
This shows a concerning trend, and it is a problem that Instagram will have to look into and take very seriously. Instagram did address the research, stating that they have a very firm policy against the sale of counterfeit products. However, up until this point the people in charge at Instagram have failed to take action. Action will have to be taken swiftly so that big name brands would feel comfortable with their products being sold on Instagram, so this is a problem that the company is definitely going to have to handle as soon as possible.
Read next: Instagram is slowly becoming a new home for Bots and Scammers!
