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Web3 Shopping: The switch from payment cards to cryptocurrencies and the era of Web3 shopping is already happening
Here’s why that’s good for both shoppers and merchants.
2021 was the year when crypto and blockchain technology went mainstream for the first time in its history. This was largely due to the rise in popularity of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the concept of Web3.
The past decade of growth of the internet has been dominated by the age of social media (also known as Web 2.0). But there has been a recent push to revolutionize the internet once again. This is by giving users more control over their data. And, by exploiting the power of various blockchain networks that enable new types of functionality and economic models on the web.
Web3 has been touted as a completely new way to think about how web users can interact with each other online. Its proponents claim it will be able to fix many key issues found with everything from social media to online shopping.
What is Web3?
For now, Web3 is more of a buzzword than anything else. It is still difficult for some of the technology’s loudest proponents to clearly explain exactly how this new age of the internet will manifest itself in the coming years.
That said, there are some common areas of focus found in basically every description of Web3. The basic idea with Web3 is to apply blockchain technology and other building blocks related to cryptography. This is to create a new structural base for web apps focused around decentralization.
In many ways, Web3 is a reaction to the high degree of control that big tech companies, such as Facebook and Google, have over their users and the internet as a whole.
Web3 Shopping: Starting up
The portal into Web3 apps for users will likely be some sort of crypto wallet. This wallet allows users to do everything from making payments to logging into web apps with some sort of decentralized, digital identity. These wallets hold the private keys associated with users’ digital assets, online identities, certifications, and possibly much more.
Today, the most popular wallet comes in the form of MetaMask, which is an Ethereum wallet. It can also be compatible with other crypto networks that use the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
Today, this sort of crypto wallet is mainly used for logging into Ethereum-based apps focused around decentralized finance (DeFi) or NFTs. However, many technologists see this model for interacting with web apps eventually branching out to all other areas of the web as well.
Although the average person likely still finds these sorts of crypto wallets a bit too cumbersome to use right now, the hope is that ease-of-use will dramatically improve over time.
What Can Web3 Enable for Online Shopping?
One of the areas of Web3 that has caught the attention of blockchain enthusiasts is online shopping and ecommerce. Bitcoin itself started as a way to revolutionize online payments.
But the promise of Web3 has the potential to do much more than change the way people pay for goods and services online.
The good news is that once someone has a crypto wallet installed in their laptop’s browser or on their mobile phone, the Web3-enabled shopping experience will not feel that different from how shopping already works today. In fact, many Web3 apps can be seamlessly integrated into traditional online commerce platforms such as Amt.land
The switch from payment cards to cryptocurrencies and the era of Web3 shopping is already happening.
NFTs could also play a crucial role in the development of this space. NFTs are unique digital tokens that are held in users’ crypto wallets. They can represent a variety of real-world or digital items.
The NFT can also be transferred to someone else in a situation where the product is resold. This is helpful in preventing the prevalence of fake or knock-off versions of products from premium brands.
Web3 Shopping: A Changing World
Bitcoin payments were the beginning of massive changes that are coming to the world of e-commerce. Newer blockchains focused on NFTs and Web3 have the potential to enable a much higher degree of experimentation. Over the coming years, merchants should pay close attention to how they can use this new technology to improve brand loyalty, reduce fraud, and much more.
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