How is Blockchain Causing a Revolution in eCommerce?
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ECommerce is the backbone of every thriving business. Like any other technological development, eCommerce has also had a significant transition over time. Currently, we see how eCommerce is not only a selling point for businesses but a solution for both the sellers and buyers. ECommerce platforms with various SEO techniques like Backlink building, Adwords, etc combined with the in-depth knowledge of the Link Building Experts, make it a win-win for all. And, with the introduction of blockchain, there are going to be massive updates on how businesses run.
The incorporation of blockchain to eCommerce will see a significant change in all aspects of the business – ranging from marketing, customer service, to inventory management, and many more. If you are yet to employ the power of blockchain for your business, this post is meant for you. Read on to understand the seven ways you can use blockchain to power your eCommerce.
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Supply Chain Monitoring
This is where most eCommerce businesses suffer. Controlling the movement of the merchandise from the supplier to the buyer and losing track of the products while in shipment could cause inconveniences to the buyer, and ruining the business trust. However, the time lost in the recovery of goods and loss of business hits the business owners the most.
With blockchain, tracking the movement of goods is more comfortable. It allows sellers to identify the current position of goods in transit. All this is achievable with embedded sensors and radio-frequency identification tags that identify a specific object on the Blockchain network.
Blockchain also offers a safer platform for keeping the sales and delivery database, making it easier to control the flow of your business. Blockchain gets rid of the middleman in business flow, making it hard for malpractices to occur from third parties.
2.Blockchain Offers a Secure Hosting Platform for ECommerce
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Ecommerce websites carry lots of sensitive information, including business inventory and customer data. Hackers target eCommerce sites to steal credit card information from businesses that store the data on the platform itself. The hacker can also collect customer contact information and sell them to spammers.
The only option to protect your eCommerce from such activities is to move it to a Blockchain platform. Blockchain offers the highest level of security protection from cyber attacks. The decentralized network makes it hard to snoop on customers. Data is securely encrypted and spread across the computers on the network. Each computer must verify the identity of information on the network, and hackers cannot identify themselves as the customer to collect the data.
3.Custom Product Offerings for Customers
From the previous point, you discover that only the customer has complete control of their information on a Blockchain system. When making purchases, their data cannot be captured and shared across so many platforms on the web. It is only the customer who decides what to share with the merchants.
For instance, when a customer uses their eCommerce mobile app to purchase the products they need, they may allow the seller to know some personal preferences. The information can help the eCommerce owner to contact them to determine whether they will need a specific product geared toward their interest. The confidentiality and security of their information improve customer loyalty and trust, and it promotes their business relationship.
4.Blockchain Reduces the Cost of Running a Business
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Since blockchain is decentralized, it means that it eliminates the middleman from the process. There is no need for a business to hire agents for monitoring their inventory, supply, as well as control customer information and all processes involved in conducting business. It, therefore, translates that the number of parties involved in your business will significantly reduce.
Since you can cut the number of players in your eCommerce business with blockchain, you end up spending less because of reduced fees. This means that your overall cost of running a business also reduces. But we know that the price is rolled over to the customer for the business to make a sustainable profit. Therefore, Blockchain technology can help you to reduce the cost of products for customers and still maintain a desirable profit margin.
5.It Promotes Business Transparency
One of the biggest problems that customers face when buying products online is making contact with the vendor. This is primarily true with the multi-vendor eCommerce platforms. You notice that such businesses block direct communication between buyers and sellers because they do not want you to do business outside their platform. You have to purchase through the eCommerce site so that they get a share in the profits.
But, how safe is it if you are buying products from a seller that you cannot contact? You need to be sure if they can deliver the merchandise to your address and before a designated date. You also need to be sure that they have the stock. Such confirmations are essential for customers to prepare themselves while doing business online.
The implementation of blockchain helps customers to have more access to business information before making a purchase decision. For instance, decentralized data means that customers know the stock capacity, manufacturing power, and delivery information as stored by the merchant. Such information is vital for customer’s purchase power.
6.It Restores Product Review Sanity
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How many times have you read a product review before you buy it? It might not be a purchasable product on Amazon – even a free app you had to download on Play Store. But also, if you read the reviews, you might get caught up in misleading information from fake buyers.
But you are not alone. 97% of customers rely on online reviews before making their purchase decisions. What does that mean? Fake reviews can boost the probability of customers engaging with fraudulent businesses while ruining the authenticity of genuine sellers. This leads to more purchases of poor-quality products. The end is a frustrated customer and stagnated business.
Blockchain is a system that authenticates every reviewer. Before anybody can post a review concerning a product, they have to buy it first. Blockchain can verify the customer’s information – including purchases related to their addresses – on a network before it allows them to post the review. And, once revies are published, they stay permanent – not editable. This is the only solution the internet needs to clean out fake reviews you see everywhere.
7.It Eliminates Fraud
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Almost all fraudulent transactions that happen online are related to credit cards. It is either a hacker stole credit card information and used it to buy products for himself, or an error caused a retrieval of the payment. The latter happens when the credit card issuer suspects that the buyer did not authorize the purchase. However, some “buyers” may also make a chargeback on their payment processor, claiming that you did not sell them the item they needed. Whatever the case, the seller is always at a loss.
With blockchain, however, all payments are secure. Firstly, there is no middle payment processor to cause a system failure. All payments are made on the same platform directly from the buyer to the seller. The network pool also has to verify the payment before it is confirmed, meaning you cannot fake a payment. Fraudulent “buyers” cannot charge back the payments.
Summing Up
Having heard the growth of blockchain and its adaptability to eCommerce, you might still be wondering if you should incorporate it into your business or not. It is safe to be skeptical, but you will not sit on the fence all the time. Blockchain is here to make businesses faster, smoother, and secure. You should as well be on your way, setting up your eCommerce to use blockchain.
