If there is one technological innovation that defined the fourth industrial revolution, it is blockchain. Blockchain technology can touch all areas of the economy and fundamentally transform it through top-notch efficiency, making it the most powerful technology the world has ever seen.
Blockchain technology has recently found applications in various industries, including finance, energy, logistics, healthcare, gaming, and even online gambling.
However, it is the e-commerce business that it intends to revolutionize and where it will have the greatest impact on consumers’ and retailers’ day-to-day lives. In many people’s eyes, the way we buy and live is essentially the same thing, and the growth of the e-commerce business has profoundly impacted both.
Intriguingly, blockchain technology’s potential to improve the e-commerce experience for sellers and buyers makes this field so interesting. Easy and effective safeguards against cybercrime and monetary insecurity issues provide. In addition, it lessens the costs associated with inventory management and processing payments, as will be seen later.
The meteoric rise of online shopping and its pervasive presence in modern life
Our buying habits have evolved with our way of life due to rising tendencies and the global pandemic. People in today’s day of increased social distance are increasingly ordering groceries and major appliances online. Numerous services are now available that promise privacy and security for their users. The New York Times reports that online shopping in the United States saw a 38% rise in revenue during the COVID-19 outbreak. There are benefits to using an online store, such as being able to shop anytime and from the comfort of your home.
Many buyers have complained about fraud in which they pay for something but never receive it. The quality of the provided goods was also dubious. Meanwhile, sellers complained about the time and effort required to get to know their customers through digital marketplaces.
While new technology has been introduced to eCommerce to make transactions safer for customers and sellers, online payment systems remain mostly unchanged. Processing payments through credit cards is an additional cost because it is in use.
What Blockchain Can Do For Online Shopping?
Save Money
Blockchain e-commerce companies can streamline many processes simultaneously, including inventory management, payment processing, product descriptions, and product photos. As a result, they save money on IT support staff salaries and the cost of maintaining the technologies that allow them to carry out these tasks. To reduce their profit margins, banks charge less to process transactions with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
Online Dangers
Many online stores struggle to meet the needs of their customers and compete with the many others that have sprung up in recent years. Additionally, they face the possibility of losing consumer information and millions of dollars due to cyber assaults, which is a significant problem in and of itself. There is no better solution to these problems than blockchain technology, which is facing by online businesses. Distributed ledgers, a key component of this technology, provide the highest possible security for online storefronts’ database management systems.
Transactions that take place quickly
E-commerce site users can make immediate online payments with blockchain technologies like Waves. With blockchains, consumers no longer have to wait several hours or days to make payments while making purchases online. After making the necessary fees, the products will dispatch.
Promotion of Commerce with Developing Nations
Thanks to blockchain technology, the ability to develop nations to participate in internet trade is truly remarkable. With Bitcoin’s decentralized peer-to-peer mechanism, users in these regions can skip the middleman when making a purchase. Additionally, these innovations facilitate internet merchants’ access to consumer marketplaces in emerging economies.
Best Uses of Blockchain Technology for Promoting the Expansion of eCommerce
The retail and e-commerce sectors have been among the most vocal in their blockchain support. Blockchain’s high levels of openness and dependability stem from its design as a distributed, shared database where modifications are readily apparent to all users. That’s why cutting-edge e-commerce operations use it to boost productivity, simplify transactions, and safeguard customer information. Regarding cross-border logistics, Alibaba, a worldwide e-commerce corporation, is said to be implementing blockchain technology.
Payments Made By Individuals To Individuals
A major benefit of blockchain technology is that it eliminates the need for intermediaries when conducting financial transactions. In most cases today, an intermediary like a bank, a payment processor, or another financial institution is involved in an online financial transaction. A bank payment may take as much as a week to clear. Because of this, transaction times and costs increase, and data is also weakening due to the involvement of mediators.
Blockchain technology allows for the development of a distributed market in which smart contracts use in place of traditional payment methods. Smart contracts are digital agreements that can carry out their execution and carry out legally binding transactions without human intervention. The buyer and seller are the only people involved with any say over the arrangement. As an illustration, a buyer in an internet store may prefer to pay for his item once he has received it at his front door. Upon package receipt, the buyer signs a delivery receipt, at which point the funds are transferred to the seller. There are no hidden fees and no middlemen, and honesty and dependability are all improved.
Customized Product Advertisements
For online stores to provide better customer service, personalization has emerged as a top goal in recent years. Sales and customer happiness can both increase with the help of targeted advertising and loyalty programs. Such a tailored strategy can only put into action with reliable information. However, customers are typically hesitant to disclose their personal information to third parties for obvious privacy-related concerns.
Using blockchain technology, it is possible to record a customer’s transactions, including purchases, in an immutable and unalterable ledger. In a blockchain ecommerce marketplace, customers have complete discretion over who sees their details and can limit the disclosure to their chosen stores. This knowledge will allow businesses to provide clients with the goods and services they are most likely to appreciate.
Availability of Reliable Product Details
Online shoppers place a premium on the integrity and accuracy of product descriptions. Customers have high standards. Thus sellers had better deliver authentic, high-quality goods. Customers can only test out the product after buying it online. Therefore the description is their sole point of reference.
The data about the products may trust since the blockchain ensures that it is always updated. Information on the product’s specifications and any relevant certificates or other documentation establishing the product’s legitimacy and quality can view by customers. This is especially important for high-priced items like jewels, name-brand clothing, and accessories. As a result, the reliability of the product description takes on greater importance as a deciding element for buyers. Therefore, it is advantageous for online stores to guarantee it to their customers. The new IBM TrustChain initiative, for instance, incorporates precious metals manufacturers and suppliers and enables the verification of diamond ring origin.
Reviews From Real Customers
The rise of consumer review sites has been both a boon and a bane for modern online shops. Reviews rely on just as much as personal recommendations when making a purchasing decision. Since positive evaluations boost sales, internet retailers frequently offer incentives to customers who leave them. However, dishonest vendors may resort to posting fake reviews. And there’s always the possibility that competitors will plant false evaluations about their rivals to damage their credibility. No business wants a dissatisfied customer who starts to doubt the authenticity of the company’s claims after reading glowing praise from satisfied former clients.
