E-commerce has experienced astronomical growth, with global e-commerce sales expected to surpass retail 4.1 trillion dollars in 2024. As a business owner, you'd obviously like a small piece of that pie as well, and yet iNdUSTRy it must be done better than this.

Fake shares are a bigger problem than you think. Only in 2019, 2.5% of world trade ($464 billion) attributed to counterfeit goods. This is almost equal to the GDP of Belgium. If your business sells any product, there is a good chance that you have already been or will be affected by counterfeiting. In other words, your business is taking a financial hit because of this rampant problem. The only question is: How much will you lose?

Indeed, COUNTERFEITS they are everyone's problem. For you, the business owner, losses lower your brand value, erode consumer confidence and eat away at revenue. For consumers, knockoffs are not only lower in quality, but can also pose safety risks – such as skin infections from counterfeit cosmetics.

Related: How counterfeit products affect brands and consumers

Types of anti-counterfeiting technologies

What can be done to clear the Wild West of e-commerce? Any type of e-commerce e-commerce business should be aware of anti-counterfeit technologies that can help them maintain the integrity of their brands. The main categories of anti-counterfeiting technologies are:

• electronic – An electronic ID or tracking device attached to the product
• Marking – A visible or invisible mark on the product
• Chemical/physical – Chemical substances or physical processes used to authenticate the product
• Engineering – Material elements or processes used for authentication or anti-tampering
• Digital – Includes information embedded and extracted from digital files and electronic devices

There are benefits and drawbacks to each, but in general, all anti-counterfeiting technologies work by detecting whether an item is authentic and whether it has undergone fraudulent activities. In an increasingly digital world, digital anti-counterfeiting technologies hold great promise.

Smart labels and smart packaging

Smart labels allow consumers to determine whether a product is authentic. They can be inserted into products or placed on their packaging (“smart packaging“). Two commonly used examples are QR codes and NFC tags.

From these labels, consumers can derive a unique code that can determine the authenticity of the product. Similarly, consumers can register their product code, allowing companies to track it.

This is a fairly simple way to combat counterfeit products, and yet it can go a long way toward protecting your company's reputation and revenue.

Brand protection software

As useful as smart tags are, their usefulness relies on intentional data mining. Brand protection software, on the other hand, constantly monitors digital properties for unauthorized use intellectual property. It works in the background, scouring websites, social media sites and the dark web to identify brand name and logo infringement.

When the software identifies a potential violation, it triggers an alert. The company can then take action, such as sending cease and desist letters. In other cases, a law enforcement response may be required.

Brand protection software is an important weapon in an anti-counterfeiting unit's arsenal, as it runs continuously in the background and applies real-time analytics to generate insights about potential threats. Some software even provides automated enforcement responses, further curbing the need for additional manpower.

Related: Amazon agrees to ban influencers who were selling counterfeit goods

Blockchain Solutions

Blockchain technology it rests on the premise that sometimes the best way to protect something is to spread it widely rather than putting it in a central Fort Knox-like location. Blockchain includes a digital ledger that stores pieces of information across an entire network. Each “block” that stores a part of the digital “chain” of data is highly secure and resistant to tampering. Its decentralized nature means that there is no single point at which it can fail.

While blockchain is perhaps best known for its association with cryptocurrencyhas applications beyond this field. In fact, it can be used in combination with anti-counterfeiting technologies to create a highly traceable and transparent supply chain. Your business can use blockchain technology to track products and trace their ownership. By discovering a product's authentication history, it is possible to more accurately identify and quickly address counterfeit products.

Customer touchpoint tracking

As useful as technology can be, sometimes companies fail to see the forest for the trees. Counterfeit products exist because A) Someone is willing to make them and B) Someone is willing to buy them. To truly combat the problem, it is necessary to address both halves of the equation.

Consumers are sometimes aware that they are buying fakes. This can be especially common among aspiring buyers—those who want the prestige of a luxury brand but can't afford the price of an original item. How can you convince consumers that it's not worth it, but the real deal is?

Consider digging deeper into the buyer's journey. By mapping a holistic view of all customer touchpoints (my company's software, Atrilyx™, does just that), it's possible to identify exactly where customers are disengaged from the brand and at risk of deliberately choosing counterfeits. This allows you to adjust your marketing campaigns as needed to communicate the value of choosing the authentic product.

Related: Your buyer's journey is now online. Is your customer experience digital first too?

It's a war, not a battle

During the ancient Roman Empire, it was common practice for merchants to place counterfeit wine trademarks on amphorae, disguising cheap wine as expensive fine wine. today, wine is still being adulterated. As long as there are goods, there will be counterfeit goods. Even if you're an SMB owner, you could be losing money to counterfeiters right now without even realizing it.

It's a costly and widespread problem—a war, not a battle—and no single solution is enough to crush it. However, by combining multiple technologies and strategies (including tracking touchpoints at the consumer level), you can build a strong defense that protects your brand. Doing this is essential – every day, your business could be losing money to counterfeiters.