Anti-counterfeiting technologies for fashion luxury products: does the consumer care?

Counterfeiting is a critical challenge for the fashion industry, taking forms such as direct product reproduction, falsification of authenticity documents, and imitation of official distribution channels, resulting in significant economic and reputational damages for brands. To address this issue, various technological solutions have been introduced, including RFID, Physical Unclonable Functions, and intelligent labels, all aimed at ensuring product traceability and authenticity. However, consumer perception remains underexplored: are customers aware of these technologies? Do they value the possibility of personally verifying product originality? And would they be willing to pay a premium for such guarantees? This study, based on a survey of 173 consumers and analysed with SPSS software, represents the first attempt to investigate these questions from the customer’s perspective. Findings reveal that most respondents are unfamiliar with anti-counterfeiting technologies, yet show strong interest in their application and express willingness to pay more for innovative solutions embedded in fashion items.