Counterfeit conundrum: Insights into bottom of the pyramid consumer behavior in India

Srabanti Mukherjee and Biplab Datta

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 2025, vol. 82, issue C

Abstract: This study uses a phenomenological approach to examine consumption patterns of counterfeit goods by Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) consumers in West Bengal, India. Forty-seven semi-structured interviews conducted with BOP consumers were subjected to thematic analysis. The study revealed four central themes for counterfeit consumption by BOP consumers: counterfeit purchasing patterns, brand recognition and purchase-point selection criteria, and counterfeit brand purchase criteria. Furthermore, this study contributes to the literature by revealing four counterfeit consumption patterns based on the awareness and willingness of BOP consumers. This study has critically analysed the role of neighbourhood retailers in counterfeit consumption at the BOP. Interestingly, this study also pioneered identifying the zone of awareness-indifference formed by normative influence and bounded rationality as coping strategies against vulnerability in the context of BOP counterfeit consumption. The implications of counterfeit consumption for marketers targeting the BOP have been discussed.

Keywords: Bounded rationality; Vulnerability; Counterfeit; Bottom of the pyramid (BOP); West Bengal; India (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969698924004107
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:joreco:v:82:y:2025:i:c:s0969698924004107

DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.104114

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services is currently edited by Harry Timmermans

More articles in Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().