Savvy Supporter recently teamed up with the NRL and IP Australia to trial the launch of the smart trade mark, a trust badge which gives buyers the confidence that the website they are visiting provides authentic products, by digitally linking between the online store and the brands registered trademark.

Websites will be marked with the "trust badge" as visual proof that the website has been verified by IP Australia as authentic. The badge also provides a link to a registered trademark, giving buyers confidence that they are shopping on a website selling authentic, products.

NRL official licensed merchandise makes up an important component of the games revenue, supporting both the clubs and codes longevity in Australian sport.

Bridgette Skehan, co-owner of Savvy Supporter, was excited to participate in the trial and hoped that the trust badge would further enhance buyer confidence when shopping on the website. "There has been an increase of counterfeit merchandise in the market over the last 12 months. While our regular customers who have purchased from our website know and trust our brand, it's the customers who are visiting the site for the first time that we hope to give a further boost that we are a brand that they can trust".

"COVID saw a huge influx of new customers onto the online space. It's possible that many of these shoppers were purchasing online for the first time. As a business which operates purely online, we saw a whole new wave of fans engaging with our brand, that were interested to understand more about who we were and whether we were selling authentic merchandise. Once the smart trademark becomes more widely used across multiple industries, we'll really start to see the benefits of buyers shopping with increased confidence" Bridgette said.