54% of Online Supplement Shoppers Fear Counterfeit Products: iHerb Survey

Fifty-four percent of online supplement shoppers say they worry about counterfeit products flooding the market, according to a new survey from online supplement retailer iHerb conducted with YouGov.

The survey, fielded September 17 through September 21 among 2,796 U.S. adults, lands as the wellness industry confronts what the research describes as a growing trust crisis. Demand for dietary supplements, vitamins and health products has surged on marketplaces, and that surge has bred counterfeit products from sellers exploiting the shift to online shopping.

The scale of exposure is broad. Approximately 74% of consumers report buying counterfeit goods either knowingly or unknowingly, according to a survey by Michigan State University's A-CAPP Center for Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection. In the supplement category specifically, many shoppers have fallen for copycat listings that imitate original products but are filled with cheap filler ingredients.

What does this mean for brands and retailers?

Supplement knockoffs are eroding consumer trust, forcing brands and retailers to take action against counterfeiters, the research finds. For practitioners, the numbers frame a concrete problem: more than half of the addressable online supplement audience now enters a purchase with counterfeit risk top of mind.

That concern does not stay abstract. When 54% of shoppers question authenticity, the trust signal attached to a listing, a seller and a marketplace becomes a conversion variable. The comparison is stark: roughly three in four consumers have already bought a fake product at least once, which means most shoppers draw on direct experience, not hypothetical fear, when they evaluate a supplement listing.

The mechanics of the problem are straightforward. Counterfeit sellers build copycat listings that mimic legitimate products in appearance while substituting cheap filler ingredients inside the package. The shopper sees a familiar label; the contents do not match what the brand actually formulates. That gap damages the counterfeit victim twice — once at checkout and once at consumption — and it damages the legitimate brand through degraded product performance it never authorized.

Why the timing matters

The iHerb-YouGov release arrives as marketplace demand for wellness products keeps expanding. The survey window, September 17-21, gives marketers a current baseline: concern about counterfeits is not a legacy issue left over from early e-commerce friction. It is present-tense anxiety among today's supplement buyers.

For brands and retailers, the survey results point to a practical mandate: prove authenticity at the point of purchase. Companies that verify sourcing, authenticate sellers and communicate those controls clearly can convert a trust deficit into differentiation. The 54% figure defines both the size of the problem and the size of the opportunity.