12/07/2021
5 Reasons E-commerce should embrace Blockchain.
Having enjoyed a good run in the financial space for a while, blockchain technology is about to disrupt ecommerce.
A recent study report reveals that by 2022, the global blockchain market is expected to experience a surge of over 400 percent.
Since 2008,Crypto currency has changed how people view financial transactions. It wasn’t backed by any commodity and had no central authority or bank for that matter.
The ecommerce domain is one of the most lucrative sectors today, disrupting how we live and shop. Implementing blockchain technology in this space, therefore, will cause significant shifts as it’ll not only revolutionize how transactions are carried out but establish a decentralized economy.
Blockchain is simply a digital record of transactions or “blocks” that are backed by cryptographic values. Each of these blocks contains data about the transactions they represent, timestamps and links to previous blocks, which once created cannot be modified so it keeps the data valid.
In ecommerce, it’s a natural fit as it can store transactional data, which doesn’t have to be financial, so you can use it for anything that needs immutable records including order fulfillment and payment. For ecommerce business owners, blockchain offers the added benefits of security, transparency and cost-cutting, while improving business and keeping customers safe.
Here’s an overview of these advantages:
1.Consumer privacy
As artificial intelligence works to transform shoppers’ experiences online, by delivering personalized and valuable experiences, blockchain technology protects their identities and offers transparency.
It doesn’t reveal users’ names, data or IP addresses, but stores transaction details in a centralized ledger, offering more visibility.
2.Supply chain communication
Supply chain management is a critical element for ecommerce businesses, which blockchain can solve. It can handle record keeping, product tracking, right from the product’s origin, to inventory, and payment.
3.Reducing costs
Blockchain reduces extra costs in the supply chain system stemming from administrative processes.
The elimination of middlemen also reduces costs incurred from fraud or product duplicity, and transacting parties can process payments using cryptocurrencies instead of relying on EDI.
4.Payments
Compared to traditional payment processing systems that can involve up to 16 different steps, blockchain simplifies the transaction process as it happens on a single network.
This reduces the need for middlemen, handles more transactions in seconds, and there are no transaction fees as payments are placed directly on the blockchain.
5.Receipts and warranties
One of the challenges with ecommerce is tracking receipts and warranties. Blockchain acts as a real-time transaction ledger, adding each receipt and warranty as a block and stores them so you can easily provide them when required.
This also protects store owners from customers who may want to fix or return items out of warranty.
It may take some time to realize the application of blockchain in ecommerce, but change is underway.
Blockchain eliminates third-party interference while facilitating most commerce systems today. It’s also cheaper and much faster, making it an ideal model for retailers.
