Technology companies are rethinking how the Internet can be used in everything from social networks to financial transactions and even binding contracts.
We often see how blockchain technology subverts finance, entertainment and even global poverty. For example, smart cities such as Singapore have launched blockchain real estate projects, allowing users to complete real estate transactions through blockchain, including all contracts, cryptocurrencies and real estate transfers.
In the real world, it is only a matter of time before these smart contracts will be as widely accepted as paper land ownership certificates.
But how the blockchain technology affects our daily life has not been discussed on a large scale, especially in the field of buying and selling goods and services. As we all know, e-commerce has ushered in a new era of retail, and now we can buy all kinds of goods and services online from time to time. But how does the blockchain affect our consumption patterns and habits? Will the blockchain eventually replace retail giants such as Amazon and eBay?
retail development
when the information website Craigslist was launched in 1995, it completely changed the way people bought and sold products and services. Craigslist is indeed an "online market", which focuses on geographical location and allows people in this area to trade online.
however, Craigslist also has some restrictions. First of all, the platform only connects buyers and sellers, and does not provide transaction payment methods. Secondly, there are security problems, and there is no way to verify the identity of buyers and sellers.
Amazon and eBay have an advantage. EBay changed online retailing through bidding, and even bought PayPal, a payment processing system, to solve the problem of online payment. Amazon, which started from selling books, accelerated the decline of traditional bookstores. With its development, it expanded to any imaginable product.
However, Amazon and eBay also face some limitations because their platforms are centralized. Moreover, merchants have to pay high online payment fees. Even with the protection measures against fraud, buyers and sellers still face fraud, such as counterfeit goods, unsecured refunds, and even blatant fraud.
in addition, these platforms do not provide social considerations to help them build trust in the market.
How does the blockchain change the game
When Bitcoin was launched in 28, people knew a lot about cryptocurrencies, which meant that the best situation was payment, transfer and similar transactions.
However, when a new generation of blockchain appears, its function is not just financial transactions. For individuals, Ether supports smart contracts and supports sending, storing and * * * enjoying data and rich applications through blockchain.
compared with the traditional centralized system, trading through distributed ledger has many advantages. First of all, distributed ledger transactions are safer because all transactions are confirmed by each node in the blockchain. Secondly, the biggest beneficiaries of cheaper and more convenient access are users, buyers and sellers.
Louis? Bacai said: "E-commerce based on blockchain is an interesting thing. E-commerce can take advantage of the transparency and decentralization of blockchain to reduce intermediaries and costs.
Building trust through social factors
Soma is a promising social trading platform, which aims to apply the decentralized nature of blockchain to retail. Soma stands for "social market", and users can encourage the creation of social capital through tokens and cryptocurrency rewards.
Simply put, users get positive incentives by publishing their goods and services online and interacting with other users through comments. In addition, Soma provides users with the opportunity to obtain tokens and cryptocurrencies through arbitration, in which a third party can act as an arbitrator in any dispute.
like any blockchain-based service, Soma's market includes a complete product history and source code tracking. Its unpatented "interactive project card" contains all the information entered by users in the time chain. In short, Soma's goal is to increase trust in the process of buying and selling by increasing transparency.
Soma hopes to restore trust in the market by adding a social dimension. All this is achieved by giving users more social incentives. The platform is based on the Ethereum blockchain, which makes it easier to pay through Ethereum or Bitcoin.
according to Jukka Hilmola, the founder of Soma, the vision of Soma community is to provide a truly free trading platform without any redundant middlemen and trading links, thus ensuring the value and liquidity of global producers and traders.
crack down on counterfeit and shoddy products
Another potential benefit of blockchain technology in retail industry.