The ACCC has uncovered four fashion websites allegedly misrepresenting themselves as local businesses, also known as ‘ghost stores’.
It is alleged these four ghost store operators are harming consumers by making false representations that they are local Australian businesses, imminently closing down, and selling high-quality clothing and footwear products, when they are instead based overseas, not imminently closing down, and are drop-shipping low-quality products.
The ACCC is warning consumers about specific conduct by the operators of the following four websites: everly-melbourne.com, willowandgrace-adelaide.com, sophie-claire.com and doublebayboutique.com.
“We are warning Australians about the risks of engaging with these four websites specifically, which we allege are not based in Melbourne, Adelaide or Double Bay, nor are they imminently closing down,” ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe said.
“We further allege that the operators of these websites are supplying products which are not of the advertised quality.”
This comes amid an increased number of consumer reports to the ACCC in recent months about online ghost stores. Since the start of 2025, the ACCC estimates it has received at least 360 reports about 60 online retailers, though media reports suggest many more may be in operation.
The consumer watchdog believes there may be more websites of this kind, falsely claiming to being a local boutique and supplying poor-quality products.
The ACCC is also aware of complaints about ghost stores refusing to provide refunds, or only offering partial refunds, to consumers who have complained about the inferior quality of the goods compared to the advertised descriptions, or not responding to complaints at all.
Ghost stores have been known to target consumers through social media ads and also tend to close and rebrand under new names, often using different Australian suburbs, towns or cities in their names to appear ‘local’.
“We urge all Australians to think twice before clicking on ads they see on social media which claim to be from a boutique business based in a local town or city,” Lowe said.
“Often ghost stores will share an emotional story on their social media or website that they are a small, locally operated business, needing to close for financial reasons.”
“They will claim they are having a ‘closing down sale’ as a result, with all stock heavily discounted and available on a very limited basis,” Lowe said.
“This conduct preys on the empathy of consumers who have a genuine desire to support local businesses, as well as creating a false sense of urgency.”
“The websites often use a similar format to many other online stores, advertising high-quality boutique clothing at heavily discounted prices. However, when the product arrives in the mail, consumers report receiving cheap, mass-produced products that have been sold at an inflated price and do not fit their advertised quality or description.”
Ghost stores also sometimes use a name that is similar to that of a genuine local boutique, leading to competitive and reputational harm for those businesses.
The ACCC understands ghost stores use targeted paid advertisements on social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram and often appear to use the Shopify e-commerce platform to host and operate their webstores.
“We have written to both Meta Platforms (as the owner of Facebook and Instagram) and Shopify to request they scrutinise and take appropriate action against the operators of ghost stores,” Lowe said.
“We want to increase public awareness of these dishonest businesses so that Australians know how to spot them and can avoid being deceived into buying an inferior product.”