The e-commerce marketplace has been witnessing a lot of transitions and transformations since the implementation of blockchain technology in various sectors of business. However, with all these alterations, the E-commerce platforms have become one of the most lucrative sectors post the 21st century. But, how can blockchain revolutionize how e-commerce businesses work?
Payments methods made easier
Influenced by banks that are implementing cross-border blockchain payments
, the e-Commerce business has also made the procedures a lot easier as compared to the traditional payment systems by using the blockchain technology for the payments. Blockchain, being a decentralized system, is not regulated by any central authorities, which implies that the operations are solely controlled by the buyers and the sellers with no third party to interfere or manipulate the transactions. Using the blockchain technology, the identities of the parties doing the transactions can also be kept confidential.Contrary to the usual payment methods, which are often imposed with limitations related to the maximum or minimum amount limits or even the geographical locations, there are no such restrictions with blockchain technology. Moreover, using a virtual currency wallet comes free of cost and users don’t have to approach any central authority to register their accounts; they can do it from the comfort of their home. Blockchain-based payment transactions are safe and reliable. The peer-to-peer technology of the blockchain makes it impossible for the hackers to tamper any of the transactions made, thereby making it the safest mode of payment.
Revamping the supply chain management
The supply chain is a critical element of any e-Commerce platform and therefore needs to be dealt with very carefully. Implementing blockchain technology in the supply chain platform of e-Commerce can help in solving serious issues like record and product tracking from the core of the business. With the help of embedded sensors and RFID tags, keeping records become much easier. Blockchain helps in tracking the entire timeline of a product throughout its journey within the e-Commerce platform. Blockchain technology also helps in eliminating the intermediaries within the supply chain and thereby curtails the excess cost, which is an added advantage both for the company and the end customers. Retailers can also be relieved of paying the extra expenditure for hiring staff for managing the inventory, once they install blockchain technology in the inventory management.
Security and reliability
The decentralized nature of the blockchain technology provides the maximum data protection from fraudsters and hackers. In the decentralized system, each transaction is stored as a block and several transactions make a chain that is encrypted from all the ends. As the chain of blocks becomes longer, it becomes impossible for the hackers to break through the blocks and tamper the data, thereby providing maximum protection. It is impossible to breach all the nodes in a blockchain network, which means data is secure. Like in the past month, Amazon successfully integrated its blockchain platform with cloud storage, which has a portfolio of over 150 functions that create a secure, permanent ledger of transactions.
Ethical Practices
Leading e-Commerce players are accused of a lack of transparency and unethical practices by other retailers. Some even go to the extent of removing direct interaction between the suppliers and the customers or even dismantling a merchant’s website without informing. Using blockchain technology helps to combat such issues. Therefore, all the leading eCommerce platforms are leveraging blockchain technology to solve such issues that the current eCommerce platforms are facing.
Blockchain technology collaborated with AI (artificial intelligence), will provide e-Commerce users with ample opportunities to facilitate system interactions in a more automated way. As such, blockchain has vowed to take the e-Commerce industry to unprecedented heights of success.