Jose Duarte discusses how to integrate a blockchain into an eCommerce site

A few years ago, consumers didn’t even consider buying food on an eCommerce platform. However, it is now becoming a fact that is repeated quite a bit and to which users are becoming more and more accustomed. One of the terms that are giving more to talk about within this world is that of blockchain and everything it can contribute, for good, in the promotion and expansion of online stores. And it is that, blockchain technology will mean a 180º turn for eCommerce. Jose Duarte, an entrepreneur and blockchain expert from Costa Rica, discusses how eCommerce platforms can adopt blockchain technology to embrace the future of the retail experience.

Based on the principle of immutability of blockchain, as well as on another principle inherent in said technology such as transparency, through the application of blockchain  technology on an eCommerce platform, it’s possible to build a manipulation-free eCommerce platform. Explains Duarte, “By recording in a truthful and transparent way the price, applied by each agent within the supply chain (collector, carrier and seller) and through the application of smart contracts, we will be able to make an automatic distribution and without human intervention of the money paid by the final consumer to the different interested parties. We will be contributing to fair trade, making an automatic distribution of revenue, according to the agreements made throughout the process.” In addition, we will be showing this information to the end-user with the aim of increasing their willingness to buy on our platform.

Additionally, based on the automatic registration by IoT (Internet of Things) devices of the temperature values, to which the product has been subjected, we can create special discounts automatically for products that presumably may not be in perfect condition, but are suitable for consumption. In this way, we will be contributing to increase our transparency in the sales process, and also, loyalty to our customers, offering them special discounts on products whose supply chain has registered some value outside the established range.

The first thing needed to integrate a blockchain  is obvious. You need a blockchain network on which to develop the entire data registration system. The second component is to have an eCommerce platform with great integration, customization and adaptation capabilities. Adds Duarte, “In order to enhance the sales strategy, the eCommerce platform must have a good omnichannel experience, allowing to reach the end-user through the web channel, mobile devices, social networks, personalized notifications and specific segmentation, among other elements.”

For this, we need to have an eCommerce platform, which combines both eCommerce capabilities and those more specific traditionally associated with web portals or mobile applications. The blockchain platform incorporates great portal capabilities to manage users, sites, content and documents with extensive eCommerce capabilities, two key aspects that undoubtedly differentiate it from the rest.

The blockchain system in ecommerce is prepared to test against any hacker or misuse. It is a completely incorruptible system that greatly guarantees the safety of any telematic operation that is done. Another advantage of blockchain in ecommerce is that all payments are made through an escrow account or bridge, through which the money does not reach the seller until the buyer verifies that the purchase has been made in perfect and optimal conditions. The blockchain provides reliability and veracity to all transactions that are made electronically, greatly improving the user’s shopping experience.

Other of its great advantages and for which it stands out are its great capacity for integration with other technologies through various mechanisms, its powerful Headless API, the capability it provides for the development of mobile applications fully integrated with the Liferay DXP core platform. Blockchain technology allows in eCommerce the direct exchange of goods and services without the intervention of a third party, facilitates transactions between equals, and to the shared economy, provides the added value of the traceability of the products traded and even helps to simplify commercial exchanges between companies.

About Jose Daniel Duarte

Jose Duarte is originally from Heredia, Costa Rica.  He has been an entrepreneur and business owner for more than 20 years, and divides his time between his existing operations and researching new possibilities in which to invest.  When he’s not dedicating time to his businesses, he spends time with his supporting wife and two children.  

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Jose Daniel Duarte

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