Blockchain Killing the e-Commerce

Everyone is making purchases online. This is the new trend now.

We visit a website, choose a product that we like, add them to cart
and checkout…and there we are….part of the e-commerce! E-
commerce is the buying and selling of goods online through the
Internet and the transfer of money and data to execute these
transactions. Currently, we have a lot of modern technology to
improve this process specifically the blockchain technology. It can
make this whole e-commerce experience a lot faster, more secure
and open for everyone.

E-commerce is thriving today. It is responsible for $2.3 trillion in

sales and expected to hit $4.5 trillion in 2021. It is slowly
removing the pieces of the retailers’ pie. So what is bad about this
whole thing? The bad thing is that not everyone benefits from it.
Surely it makes a lot of money for the sellers and more power to
control the buying and selling but it leaves a little to none to the
ordinary customers. Here are the most common flaws of a
centralized market:

1. They know too much about the customers, from your name
down to your shipping address and your credit card details.

2. The payment option is very limited. The most common that

everyone has as the payment gateway is Paypal that charges a very
high fee of 2–3%.

3. The delivery method is painful. Your paid goods can be lost or

stolen while In Transit and even when delivered to your mailboxes
and doorsteps.

Despite its flaws, the centralized marketplace has its own good
sides as well. Let’s take a look at the below examples:

1. Lower Operation Costs

Having a centralized warehouse and office really cuts the

expenses. You have few utilities to pay, few employees to hire and
don’t require much equipment and technology.

2. Stronger Online Retail Relationships

Since everything is centralized, retailers had the chance to get to
know each other better.

Is there really a chance to make this better? Of course yes! Let us

take a look on how blockchain can change the game.

Blockchain offers the industry an alternative that can improve the

status quo on two different fronts. The first is the issue of
centralization, a problem blockchain resolves simply with the way
it’s built. The second is more practical, as blockchain decentralized
and disintermediated model allows for the creation of security
systems that features a more paradigm for cybersecurity.

With decentralized commerce, we no longer need the use of a third

party for any transaction to verify the payment. This is made
possible by blockchain and smart contracts. Aside from reduced
fees, it will increase efficiency and most importantly it will remove
misaligned interests and layers of corruption and greed.
Decentralized e-commerce allows us to redistribute the value to
the people who actually contribute the most value in the network.
And this is the most important!

Blockchain technology offers a lot of benefits; immutability,

security, anonymity, and it’s capacity to disrupt many industries.
So what innovation are we talking about here? We are talking
about the possibility to sell all of these products stored in scattered
and countless warehouses around the world, without having a
centralized entity that monitors sellers, decides who is worthy to
be on the first page and such. A fully decentralized e-commerce
platform could solve all the problems of centralized platforms that
we just tackled earlier. Here are the key takeaways that we will
benefit when blockchain finally integrates with this process:

1. Security of private data. It will offer customers the option to

create a user profile that they can control. Everything will be
encrypted to the blockchain. The only thing that will be visible for
sellers is the information needed to deliver the purchased items
from a customer. Say goodbye to fraudulent transactions!

2. Delivery will be secured. With blockchain integration,

everyone including the customers will have an equal visibility on
their order movement which will help reduce and eliminate
fraudulent practices, delays and minimize courier costs. Also it
promotes enhanced transparency as it documents a product’s
journey origins and touchpoints, which eliminates the bias in
today’s opaque supply chains.

3.Payment option will be enhanced. Cryptocurrency will

come into play offering a lot cheaper transaction fees for both the
buyer and seller.It will also secure the users data like credit card
number, CVV, pincode and such that we enter online when
completing the purchase at checkout.
4. Document manipulation will be unlikely as everyone has
access to data so tampered files are easy to detect.

5. Protection from government meddling. Since blockchain

is not controlled by banks this means that government cannot
come in between.Nobody has control on cryptocurrency and
blockchain as they are software with a finite amount of coins
making them resistant to inflation unlike fiat money or currencies.

6. Faster Transaction. Bank transactions usually takes days to

clear, unlike blockchain that can clear in a matter of few seconds
and operating 24/7.

But aside from this good side, it also has some disadvantages that
we also have to consider. Here are a few examples:

1. Volatility. It is very common for bitcoin to fluctuate

everyday extending to a 20% low or more in a single day. But
despite this, the price of bitcoin and other primary
cryptocurrencies continue to rise in an upward trend.

2. Storage issues. This is very common for our not so tech

savvy users. In fact they can purchase a cold storage wallet but
since they lack the knowledge and experience, they store their
cryptocurrencies on the exchanges making them prone to
hackers and information theft.
3. Performance. Since blockchain is doing all verification and
processes on a single transaction, it is slower compared to a
centralized network that processes transactions one at a time.

4. Uncertain regulatory status. This is not regulated and

mandated by the government, it gives some institutions and
sectors a hard time to adopt.

5. Cost. Yes, blockchain offers a very minimal transaction costs

but this requires a very large amount of capital costs to kick in.

6. Complexity. It is not as simple as it looks like. Our non-

techie and older generation will have a hard time adapting and
coping up on using this new technology.

But this whole decentralization will still take a long way to go.

Patience and adaptation will play a key role in the success of this
new technology.

www.cubeshop.io