Since the dawn of the internet, e-commerce has become one of the fastest growing sectors of the global economy. In a wildly transformative era, technological innovation has barely glanced at physical retail, leaving one of the most valuable sectors in the world years behind the rest.
Retail Gaps
The retail sector has been split between online and instore retail and these areas do not see eye to eye. While online retail has been doing great over the last 5-6 years, the physical retail market has been on the decline. Recent research suggests that even online retail is plagued with its own issues. The technology that helped the rise of online retail is now proving to be a challenge to keep up with, while physical retail has just woken up and is trying to breathlessly catch the technology train.
Deloitte research hints that online and offline retailers are struggling to keep up with rapid changes in technology. To overcome this, they will need to become further integrated whilst offering on-demand and personalized services, especially to the Millennial and Gen Z demographics, who now comprise more than half the global population. To avoid the dreaded ‘digital disconnect’, where customers aren’t enjoying a smooth shopping experience, blockchain technology is hailed as the disruptive force capable of creating a trusting, seamless and rewarding ecosystem for both retailers and consumers.
Shoppers are faced with complicated scenarios when they try and continue their shopping journey from online to instore or vice versa. The common issues reported by shoppers are:
- This deal is only available online
- Our instore stock and online stock are not in sync
Blockchain startup Reckoon is looking to cut away cumbersome hindrances with an intelligently designed one-stop global shopping platform as a service for retailers, bolstered by blockchain and AI.
The global retail market is failing to provide a singular, personalized shopping experience solution, which is creating a disconnect between physical and online shopping journeys. The result, according to a 2019 eTail report, is visible in the behavior of American shoppers who for the most part (95%) use online shopping in some form, though that same group spends approximately 65% of their shopping budgets at traditional high-street retailers.
Blockchain Solutions
Reckoon offers brands, retailers and consumers a platform on which the global e-commerce market can thrive seamlessly, all the while bridging the gap between online and instore consumer journeys.
Reckoon’s Global WishBasket Shopping Protocol (GloWS) provides a standardized and universal medium through which shoppers can have their orders fulfilled. GloWS taps Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain to give retailers further insights into the intent of their shoppers, resulting in better outcomes for both consumers and retailers alike. For brands and retailers, there is also an opportunity for greater collaboration to fulfil the shoppers’ wish basket and their marketing efforts. This particular feature is a revelation as local retailers can now reach the global stage, and brands can create smart marketing strategies whilst gaining hyper-localized exposure.
The retail siblings are realizing that it is not an either/or question between them (online/instore) it is all about what the shopper wants, and how they want it. One channel on its own will not be able to survive, so the only way forward for both the siblings is to join forces and leverage the uniqueness inherent in them.
Reckoon’s blockchain & AI solution provides shopping platform as a service, making it accessible for retailers of all shapes and sizes. Furthermore, blockchain technology is emerging as a tool for transformation in e-commerce. In terms of transactions and payments, immutability and transparency, blockchain speeds up and guarantees these elements amongst many others.
With smart contracts facilitating the collaboration between retailers, creating an ecosystem where the overall cost of acquiring and retaining a customer is reduced. With that and more, Reckoon is well-positioned to be a major player within the retail industry in the near future.
This is a submitted sponsored story. CCN urges readers to conduct their own research with due diligence into the company, product or service mentioned in the content above.
Last modified: February 10, 2020 2:49 PM UTC
