[2018-01-09] Tokenizing Retail

Tokenizing Retail: https://bitcoingarden.org/tokenizing-retail/

The way we interact online has changed with each new technological revolution to hit the internet. Browsing on our mobile devices wasn’t possible until the advent of wireless broadband, and the short bursts of communication we now prefer, thanks to social media platforms like Twitter, were once the realm of email exclusively. Payments have changed as well, with services like PayPal making it easier for commerce to move online and across borders. The next tidal change to the internet will come as blockchain technology is increasingly adopted, and there are already companies using it to develop infrastructure for the future.

A purposeful application of blockchain is its ability to create efficient ecosystems for business, using tokens that are a medium for exchanging value transparently. Called cryptocurrencies, these tokens are much more than speculative assets, and can be used by customers to interact with online service providers. Cryptocurrency has proven its usefulness to many industries, and its next killer app is in retail, where it can drive customer engagement, brand loyalty, and help build more creative marketing funnels.

For retail on the internet, termed eCommerce by most, competition is fierce. Customers have near unlimited access to every product or service imaginable, and shorter attention spans than ever. There are entire industries dedicated to helping merchants capture the interest of these fickle potential customers, using paid and unpaid methods to boost positioning in search engine results, promote via social media, and more. There is no doubt that reaching new customers for online businesses is difficult, but bringing them from the internet to a physical location is even harder....