- July 15, 2020
- Posted by: Admin
- Category: Blockchain Development
The E-Commerce industry is on the verge of massive disruption. Studies predict that the E-Commerce landscape is to have about five trillion dollar sales globally by the end of the year of 2021. In this tech-savvy era, we can figure out that a major chunk of sales happening in the retail industry is by making use of E-Commerce platforms. This rate is getting increased in major countries at an exponential rate. It has become a practice that offline sellers are moving to online platforms as they foresee the impact the e-commerce industry is having on our ecosystem. Moreover, they have realized the fact that in order to become successful in the retail industry, they need to move on to e-commerce platforms.
Talking about the advantages of selling products online, it offers the merchants with numerous facilities which no one ever wants to miss out on. It help them to learn more about their customer, their buying behaviors, shopping trends, search history, it help them in targeting the right audiences spread across different part of the globe, and help them generate more revenue with less span of time. Also, e-commerce platforms offer seamless ways of selling products online.
Even though the E-commerce platforms offer enhanced ways of selling products to the merchants, it has so many limitations involved in it. These limitations include factors such as international payments, fraudulent activities, a matter of trustworthiness, and much more. This has become a real challenge to the merchants. Various alternatives leveraging technology was made available to overcome this. However, the adaptation made by Blockchain Technology was the most prominent and successful one. The purpose of this article is to discuss in detail the implementation of blockchain technology in the e-commerce landscapes and how it is transforming the industry as a whole. So let us get started.
What is Blockchain Technology and how does it work?
Blockchain Technology is gaining huge traction these days because of the advantages it facilitates. Though the technology is wide and vast, we are going to briefly discuss what is blockchain and how it works. As the name itself represents, blockchain technology is a network of interlinked blocks connected in the form of a chain reaction. The blocks consist of information piled up. After the storage capacity of a block reaches its limits, the formation of a new block will start. This is a continuous process. The main property of a blockchain that makes it popular these days is that once a data has been saved inside a block, it can neither be edited nor tampered. The data stored in the block of a blockchain network depends on the purpose of the block. Blockchain technology doesn’t have a centralized server. It is a peer to peer network, where every node computers in the network act as a server. This increases the transparency and authenticity of Blockchain Technology. The theoretical part of how a blockchain works is quite easy. When a new block is created in the blockchain network, every node in the network will be notified. The next duty of the nodes is to verify the authenticity of the newly added block. If its verified, the block will be allowed to be a part of the network. If the information in the new block is not approved by the other nodes, it will get rejected. Blockchain technology uses the concept of proof of work to verify the authenticity of blocks.
Major use cases of Blockchain Technology
Blockchain Technology is widely adopted across various verticals and its use cases are numerous. Let us now look at some of the major use cases and applications of blockchain technology in real-life situations.
· Cryptocurrencies
One of the most popular and globally adopted applications of blockchain technology is Cryptocurrencies. They are also known as digital currencies. These currencies make use of blockchain technology for its hassle-free operations. One of the most popular and valuable cryptocurrency is Bitcoin, which was invented in the year of 2009. The monetization value of Bitcoin is still going up. After Bitcoin has become a massive hit, many have come up with several cryptocurrencies, which also tasted the freshness of success. The process of obtaining a cryptocurrency is called mining.
· Smart Contract
With the best application of Blockchain technology, its users are now able to practice international deals leveraging smart contracts. It offers transparent ways of running a business for all the parties involved in the contract and ensures that either the contract is not violated or the requirements get fulfilled.
· Secure payment
A high degree of safety and security in the payment process is another advantage put forward by Blockchain Technology. This facility of blockchain technology makes it a cherry-pick for the businesses that includes financial dealings within it.
· Asset Management
Blockchain Technology is redefining the ways of asset management. With its best application, transformed are the various practices and processes that existed in the asset management landscape. Enhanced efficiency, speed, and security are a few of the major reasons why blockchain technology remains the best pick.
Blockchain Technology in the E-Commerce Industry
Though the application of Blockchain Technology is wide and in-depth across various verticals, we will be limited to its applications in the E-Commerce industry. Blockchain technology has got a lot to do in the E-Commerce Industry and we will discuss it in detail.
· Decentralized Market Place
Decentralized is a concept that got huge traction after the introduction of Blockchain technology in E-Commerce landscapes. Decentralized market places is a peer to peer network that connects buyers and sellers without any third parties involved in it. The result of this is a streamlined pipeline that increases operational efficiency and in house productivity.
· Lineage of Data
Blockchain technology is highly safe, secure, and transparent. With the application of blockchain technology in the E-Commerce industry, it gives a clear picture of the origin and source of the products and various other goods. This in turn helps merchants to increase the trust factor among the customers, especially if he/ she is a potential but a new seller on the particular platform. Also, it helps the end customer in having a deep understanding of the product and whether it meets all kinds of requirements the manufacturer claims it does.
· Data protection
An E-Commerce website itself holds the data of millions and billions of users in it. It can be their search history, purchase history, shopping details, personal information including a contact address, communication details, and much more. It is mandatory that these personal data has to be kept private and to respect it. Back in time, it was easier for hackers to get into the internal frameworks of these E-Commerce websites, thereby stealing potential data from there. But right after the advent of Blockchain Technology, these set of data has given more power and has made it safe and secure that it remains inaccessible for hackers and other unauthorized bodies.
· Integrating Cryptocurrency for payment
Cryptocurrencies are gaining huge traction as the number of cryptos and the monetization value they hold are becoming much high. Integrating Blockchain Technology in the E-Commerce industry allows the end-users to buy any products of their kind and make successful payments by making use of cryptocurrencies. This holds a high degree of transformational behavior that it’s going to onboard massive revolution. The payments thus made are highly safe, secure, and transparent.
· Centralized price comparison system
As a result of integrating blockchain technology to the internal frameworks of the E-commerce industry, the end customers are given the power to compare the prices, that too by the help of a centralized price comparison system. The result of this is the customers can get the products at the best price and this will enhance their shopping experience. Also, this will help the customers in having in-depth understanding of the facts that is the price they are paying is worth or not.
· Unified Product Classification
In an E-Commerce platform, products are categorized based on several classifications and this can go out of the league at times. By having the best blockchain practices in the industry, all of these classifications get streamlined and the right product falls into the right category. This not only helps the end customers in finding out the right products they want to purchase but also allows the merchant to make the most out of the business.
· Product Digitalization
Blockchain Technology helps business owners make it big on respective E-Commerce platforms through product digitalization. Here each physical good and products are given electronic token number leveraging which the in and out details of the product can be pulled out.
· Supply Chain Optimization
By making use of the power of blockchain technology, businesses can now optimize, manage, and have their hands on top of various supply chain processes involved in the E-Commerce business. Blockchain Technology helps them in increasing their visibility over the entire process. It will help them to eliminate all the hassles and bustles involved in the process and offer them with few of the best experience as far as the industry is concerned.
· Inventory Management
Inventory Management is the most important part of running an e-commerce business. It is poise to a high degree of complexity as a minute level of error can take the entire business the other way round. It is right after the advent of blockchain technology that the inventory management processes have given more transparency and visibility that it helps the business owners to manage it seamlessly. It will deliver real-time data based on customer purchase and match it with the purchases. This in turn allows the merchants to sit back and relax.
· Trade Finance and Documentation Management
E-Commerce industry itself has a lot of documentation involved in it. This is a mandatory part of the product as it cannot be avoided or cannot give the lowest priority. Any mishandling or tampering to these documents can cause huge harm or delay to the entire process as it can be legal letters, contracts, agreements, etc. To overcome this, the best use case of blockchain technology can be used. With Blockchain technology, all these documents can be digitalized and can be made as documents that can neither be edited nor tampered. In simple words, the data inside these documents remain safe, secure, and will be free from all kind of malware activities.
· User-generated advertisement system
Under this application of Blockchain Technology, the users are given the right to advertise a product. They play a prominent role in determining the sales of that particular product and they will be rewarded for the role they played. It is related to affiliate marketing, but the integration of Blockchain Technology makes it more transparent.
· Enhancing the user experience
Without any second thought, it is crystal clear that the best application of Blockchain technology in the E-Commerce industry has helped the end-users in gaining the best in class experience. It has disrupted all the conventional ways and has enhanced its visibility. It is right after the advent of blockchain technology and its integration in the e-commerce landscape, merchants were able to deliver a top-notch experience to the end customers.
How much does it cost to develop a blockchain solution for E-Commerce business?
Blockchain Technology is actively getting integrated into the frameworks of E-Commerce businesses as the concerned individuals and enterprises have realized its true potential. They are now actively seeking the best blockchain app development companies based across the globe in order to come up with a finely built blockchain solution for their E-Commerce business. This will not only help merchants in reaching out to the right customers at the right time in the most feasible way but also helps end customers in ensuring the quality of the products and goods that get delivered to them. How much does it cost to develop a blockchain solution for E-Commerce Industry is becoming an active question. Coming to the costing part, a Blockchain solution for the E-Commerce industry will cost around USD 10,000 to USD 50,000. The cost will vary based on the requirements. Since a lot of integrations and skill set is required, the cost also depends on the type of blockchain app Development Company one hire to develop solutions of such kind.
DxMinds Innovation Labs- the best Blockchain app development company
DxMinds Innovation Labs is the fastest growing digital transformation and blockchain application development company headquartered in the USA. They have their corporate offices and active representatives in countries such as India, UAE, Peru, and Australia. The company focuses on delivering top-notch services in the blockchain domain, thereby making its customers a full-fledged beneficiary of digital transformation. For more details on how the top-notch blockchain solutions for E-Commerce industry can take your business to far more and beyond, drop a mail to info@dxminds.com