Frontiers: The Demand for Counterfeits: A Descriptive Analysis

We descriptively document a robust U-shaped relationship between income and counterfeit consumption using large-scale field data on U.S. consumers. Relative to the middle-income cohort ($50k–$75k), both low-income (<$⁢15⁢K) and high-income (>$⁢150⁢K) consumers are more active in counterfeit markets: they purchase more, buy more repeatedly, and disproportionately choose higher-priced and niche listings as well as brands’ classic product series. The tails differ in composition: relative to the middle-income cohort, low-income demand loads more on lower-tier brands, whereas high-income demand tilts toward ultraluxury and toward higher-priced listings within a series, consistent with greater willingness to pay for counterfeit quality. A cross-brand copurchase network corroborates these patterns, with pronounced clustering by product category and brand position. We discuss implications for theory and practice.