There has been an affectation on the retail industry by a host of technological innovations. Some have helped reduce costs and increase efficiency, while others have created customer experience nightmares. The question, then, is: can blockchain make retailers’ lives easier or harder? In our view, it’s a resounding yes for both cases. This is not to say that blockchain technology does not come with challenges or risks. However, as long as organizations do their homework and thoroughly evaluate whether blockchain makes sense for them, there are immense opportunities for reducing costs and improving customer loyalty programs. So let’s explore how blockchain could benefit retailers. Reliability When you use traditional currency, such as dollars, you trust your government to ensure it’s authentic. You trust them so much that you probably won’t accept a damaged or marked $20 bill. With blockchain, every user on that system must authenticate each transaction on the blockchain by digital signatures. This means no one can copy or fake transactions using blockchain technology. The process prevents fraud because digital signatures are virtually impossible to forge; even governments have trouble doing so! That’s why many people believe blockchain will revolutionize everything from banking and shipping to voter registration and crowdfunding. The retail industry can use blockchain technology to improve customer identity management, inventor...
