Sales rankings, which are meant to guide consumer spending, have become less reliable due to some merchants fabricating "fake orders." However, most consumers are unaware of this and still follow these rankings blindly, entrusting their trust-filled money to a few counterfeiters. The reason why "fake orders" run rampant lies in the fact that the cost of counterfeiting is too low compared to the gains obtained.
Some shopping malls with centralized cashiers and management fee collection even indulge brands in creating "fake orders" to collect more management fees. Some malls charge management fees based on minimum sales figures; if the brand doesn't reach this quota, they still have to pay according to this amount. Rather than doing so, it's better to achieve the required quota through "fake orders," thereby gaining a good ranking, achieving two goals at once. Additionally, some malls implement an elimination system for the lowest performers. To avoid being eliminated due to low sales, some brands use "fake orders" to boost their performance, leading to a wave of imitation, causing "fake orders" to become somewhat widespread.
Industry experts remind consumers that when purchasing products, one should still understand more about the strength and reputation of the selected brand. The sales rankings provided by shopping malls can only serve as a reference and should not be blindly followed. Otherwise, being deceived would indeed be regrettable! Home furnishings sales generally involve paying a deposit upon signing the contract, with the remaining balance paid upon delivery. Although malls may have centralized cashiers, what they often collect is just the deposit, while the remaining balance is collected by the brand itself during delivery and installation. When calculating sales figures, malls do so based on the total contract amount. According to convention, the deposit should be 20% of the contract amount, but salespeople, in order to secure orders, sometimes allow customers who claim they don't have enough money to symbolically pay a hundred or two hundred yuan, allowing the contract to still be signed.
For "fake orders" involving transferring orders between stores, there is no real loss to the brand, as management fees must be paid regardless of whether the order is placed in one store or another. The actual cost of a "fake order" is merely the mall's management fee, and the deposit is just collected on behalf of the brand. After deducting the management fee, the remainder is returned to the merchant. Whether the order is actually executed is none of the mall's concern, and management fees are typically charged at 1%-2% of the contract amount. For a 10,000 yuan order, this amounts to just 100-200 yuan. If attracting more people through sales rankings can be achieved, this small expense can be considered negligible.