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A report produced by a prominent entrepreneur and eCommerce expert suggests that the retail industry is destined to embrace blockchain technology to a major extent over the next five years.
The analysis by Monica Eaton-Cardone – Chief Operating Officer of Chargebacks 911 and co-founder and Chief Information Officer of Global Risk Technologies published to PRNews on Wednesday. Chargebacks911 is a chargeback dispute resolution and remediation company. Global Risk Technologies provides risk mitigation and fraud management services within the payment industry.
Eaton-Cardone identifies that only 6% of retail companies are prepared for the use of blockchain technology right now. However, her expectation as for the market indicators in the retail industry over the next five years.
Blockchain in retail currently holds a value of $ 80 million. Eaton-Cardone's research suggests that this value will top $ 2.3 billion by 2023, representing a 29 fold increase. With only 6% of the industry participants currently 'blockchain-ready', it's that 13 times as many companies will be on-board and be in a position to use the technology within the next five years. According to survey results, an additional 9% of retail businesses will be in a position to embrace the technology within the coming year. 78% of businesses suggested that they be integrated into Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) into payment options within the next five years.
Eaton-Cardone has identified the use of DLT for payments, Eaton-Cardone has identified the use of this technology for other applications. She claims that she is in the industry, she becomes evident because her market value is likely to be over the next few years. She stated:
"Bitcoin has suffered high profile hacks and wildly fluctuating prices in recent years, so weariness of cryptocurrency has led to be a leery of blockchain by association. But the technology is starting to spread in the retail industry now that the early adopters are proving its real world potential. "
Eaton-Cardone highlights five key blockchain applications that are disrupting retail. The identification of the supply chain in the case of the raw material supply chain. The report cites a recently formed partnership between IBM and Walmart as an example of a practical application of the technology in terms of supply chain. Previously determining the origin of a product with the application of blockchain, this data is now being retrieved in 2.2 seconds.
Inventory management is another key area identified in the report. Blockchain makes it easier for stakeholders to identify the location of goods. This data is invaluable in facilitating improved inventory management, cutting down inventory replenishment times and stock-out and back-order scenarios which are estimated to cost the industry $ 1 trillion each year.
Blockchain leaves an audit trail which is likely to tackle the problem of the theft and counterfeiting of goods. Fraudsters will be able to pass on counterfeit goods as if they were original and they will be able to verify ownership.
Blockbuster to protect both the seller and the buyer. Sellers can use the technology to verify that they have been able to charge them on a recurring basis and also demonstrating compliance with applicable laws. From the consumers perspective, they can prove beyond doubt when they have requested a subscription based service.
The last area that Eaton-Cardone identifies is that of loyalty programs. Blockchain facilitates retailers in savings and using customer data when it comes to product recommendations and future orders. This can be achieved without the need to store the data on the vendors servers – which would be at risk from security breaches and hacking attempts. Loyalty and reward programs can be tokenized, making it easy for customers to track, redeem or trade points.
"Today's retail applications are proving that blockchain definitely lives up to the hype", Eaton-Cardone asserts. "Distributed ledger technology has moved from theoretical to practical uses, and the implementations are now being just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what blockchain can do for retailers. I believe that blockchain has the capacity to completely reshape the retail landscape within the next five years. "
