Digital platform Dupe.com has gone viral on Instagram and TikTok. It entices users to the search engine with claims that big box brands are white-labelling products and selling identical furnishings at vastly inflated prices.
It works by typing a product URL after dupe.com/ (or uploading a phone image). The search tool locates lower-priced lookalikes, and the platform earns a commission for each sale.
US home retail behemoth Williams-Sonoma, also the owner of the Pottery Barn network, has launched legal proceedings against the software platform – claiming ‘false advertising, unfair competition and copyright infringement.’
News site Business of Home reports that the software startup has since removed videos claiming that products exclusively manufactured for the retailer are sold elsewhere for a fraction of the price.
While using the platform, results can be varied and often far from accurate (we typed in a chair URL, and the search showed up with an ottoman) – it’s clear that new generations of homemakers thirst for a bargain, and the age of the dupe is driven by the lowest possible price.
” ….The retail giant accuses Dupe.com of crossing several ethical and legal lines to go viral by “manufacturing outrage” among consumers”. Business of Home
Another issue is that the generations that use social media as news and information sources are statistically proven to use social platforms to shop.
While Dupe.com has claimed some users “reverse” the dupe engine to find the original products (some claim this is 23-35% of users), this starkly contrasts the platform’s appeal to users to save money by hunting for knockoffs.
Also, ‘Gen Z loves dupes, so what does this mean for the design industry?’
And ‘What a new dupe-hunting site says about the industry’s relationship with knockoffs’
Stream the USA TODAY interview with Dupe.com founders here (2-minute watch)
IMAGES from Business of Home and Surface Magazine
