Brits put trust in Amazon despite major problems behind scenes

Amazon is the UK’s most trusted online marketplace, according to research by Incopro.

In a survey of 1,000 people, it beat out the likes of eBay, Wish and Gumtree, while Groupon, Etsy and Alibaba emerged as the least trusted.

In February 2019, Amazon admitted to investors for the first time it had a problem with counterfeits.

Under the risk factors of its annual finance report, it said: “We also may be unable to prevent sellers in our stores or through other stores from selling unlawful, counterfeit, pirated, or stolen goods, selling goods in an unlawful or unethical manner, violating the proprietary rights of others, or otherwise violating our policies.”

The Incopro research also highlights the lack of consumer knowledge on the problem as 45% said they would only buy from trusted marketplaces that included Amazon and eBay to help reduce the number of counterfeits they purchased. 26% would compare products against others found on marketplace or search engine results.

“What this shows me is that brand trust is everything. The likes of Amazon and eBay make it seem they can be trusted, but behind the scenes there are major problems at hand which aren’t being addressed effectively enough despite the initiatives the platforms have announced,” says Piers Barclay, Chief Strategy Officer at Incopro.

“Consumers are continuing to unknowingly purchase fake goods on these platforms, some of which can be dangerous to their health. Marketplaces need to take more responsibility and take action against counterfeiters on their website or risk consumers going elsewhere when the trust is lost.”