Web3 for Retail and E-Commerce
What if instead of canceling your monthly subscription service you were able to sell it?
Sooner than later, this will be the case as more and more traditional retail and e-commerce companies make a move towards supporting web3.
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End-users (Customers) will be able to unlock tokenization of value through ownership.
Let's look at Coupons, Subscriptions, Rewards in the traditional web2 space they are today. Unarguably 3 of the most pivotal verticals for any retail or e-commerce.
Coupons continually attract new and existing customers in your door but how do you validate that the coupon used is by your targeted audience when they are widely distributed and shared on coupon websites?
Subscriptions are the effortless repeat revenues you can count on every month but draw hesitation from customers who fear they are locked in. The money paid during that time is almost the same as a lease; you have nothing at the end.
Rewards retain your customers by offering perks based on dollar value or dollar spend but are often times tiered to unattainable levels.
Now let's look at the the same 3 verticals in a web3 powered environment.
Coupons directly targeted to specific users who have to prove ownership of an asset in order to redeem. Whether that is a digital coupon or a collateral item such as a NFT, it has to be proven before it can be redeemed.
EXAMPLE: As a small business I want to offer my customers who have purchased my digital art with a $100 off their next purchase. In a traditional web2 environment issuing a coupon code for 100OFF seams straight forward but there is no validation that the correct end-user is using that coupon if it gets shared. My customer could've sold that artwork to someone else and therefore is no longer my targeted customer. Through token-gating the coupon, the $100 off would follow the owner of the art instead of the customer from the point of sale.
Subscriptions would be tokenized as a means to validate their value entitling its owner to a service or special access. Think of it as purchasing a stake in the subscription as opposed to paying to access it.
Instead of canceling their subscription they could sell it. The subscription has the ability to appreciate or depreciate like any asset.
EXAMPLE: At home food subscription service. Currently in web2 consumers are locked into monthly contracts and automatic shipments. In a web3 environment, customers could purchase a subscription that gets them discounted access to monthly services. There is a one time up front cost but no recurring monthly fee. When they no longer wish to use that service, they can sell their subscription or trade it with someone else
Rewards don't have to be restricted to dollars spent in store, they can expand to dollars spent elsewhere or external interactions. Wait, why and how is that rewarding if they aren't spending in your store? Simply because it allows for the inclusion of external actions which influence future purchases.
EXAMPLE: As a small business owner I want to be able to reward customers for shopping local. Through Web3 enabled e-commerce, I can offer conditional discounts or perks to customers that have interacted with other local web3 enabled businesses. While the dollar spend might not be in my specific store, knowing that a customer interacts with local businesses makes them a target customer.
Roaming Travelers empowers early adopters of web3 technologies by offering storewide discounts for customers who hold popular ERC-20 Tokens or notable NFT Projects through a tiered reward system. Specific tokens (coins) are eligible for lower tiered discounts while NFT holders are eligible for the higher tiered discounts.We plan to expand this token-gated discount program in the near future to include exclusive web3 only items and releases.
