There’s no doubting the impact eCommerce has had on the world, particularly since the beginning of the pandemic. With lockdowns enforced and people told to stay at home, businesses turned to eCommerce to better serve their customers. Now, the rise to prominence of NFTs offers businesses further opportunities to enhance the eCommerce experience, both for consumers and themselves.
What Are NFTs?
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are non-interchangeable assets. Typically, these are digital assets, but they can represent physical assets in digital form. NFTs have rocketed to fame and are known for digital art ownership, but an opportunity for eCommerce is their applicability to physical product ownership.
Digital & Physical Product Bundles
When you walk into a store and make a purchase, you receive the instant gratification of being handed the product you’ve paid for. With eCommerce, it’s a little different as you have to wait for your order to be processed, shipped, and delivered.
However, one of the most notable NFT benefits for eCommerce is enhancing the service businesses offer clients. For example, a fashion brand could provide a digital replica of an item that the customer can use in the metaverse. In fact, Nike is pioneering this with their recent acquisition of RTFKT Studios and acceptance of a patent for Cryptokicks.
By employing this tactic, eCommerce businesses can replicate the instant gratification felt by in-store customers. Better yet, they’re getting a digital asset in addition to a real-world product.
Loyalty Cards & Reward Schemes
When weighing up the NFT pros and cons, one crucial element is the utility that NFT provides. In the realm of digital assets, utilities essentially mean the added benefits you get from purchasing that item. Often, the battles for customers come down to price, but that’s when businesses don’t offer genuine value. Investing in rewards and incentives that your customers actually want is a gamechanger for eCommerce. Adidas is a great example of this, giving NFT holders access to exclusive events, product launches, and much more.
Authenticity Verification
NFT smart contracts are the future of product authenticity and purchase verification. Traditionally, when you buy a high-value item, such as a Rolex, you receive a paper certificate of authenticity. Take that a step further – when you purchase a vintage Rolex, you put your trust in a piece of paper that could well be fraudulent.
The introduction of the NFT smart contract digitally tracks the purchase and sale history of every product, verifying its authenticity with 100% certainty.
In Summary
Overall, NFTs are going to transform the future of eCommerce. Both businesses and consumers will reap the rewards from their adoption, including enhanced customer service, improved rewards, and secure product verification. As the technology develops further, becoming more widely understood, don’t be surprised to see more eCommerce businesses turning to NFTs. And, if you are the owner of an eCommerce business, you should consider becoming a pioneer of the movement.