A decade has passed since the advent of Bitcoins, yet barely anyone has a clear and concrete vision of the future of cryptocurrencies. While the issues around reliability continue to be there, things have been looking better for the industry for the last few years, especially after the COVID pandemic.
Numbers suggest that currently, over 14000 venues from around the world now accept Bitcoin as a viable mode of payment. This number might seem relatively insignificant, but this is not all because people using cryptocurrencies for online shopping are growing at a rate of 12.5% every year.
Such extensive use of the currency might have you thinking that cryptocurrencies are the future of online shopping. But before answering this question, one needs to understand the online shopping industry and the role of cryptocurrencies in all of that. Hence let’s get started.
How Does The Online Shopping Industry Work?
You can hardly find a person who has not bought anything online, be it a physical product or other services. The growth of the eCommerce sector is staggering, and with the way things are going, it would be safe to say this pace is not slowing down anytime soon. This is evident, given the numbers where the eCommerce retail sales have risen from 2.3 trillion USD in 2017 to 4.88 trillion USD in 2021 globally.
In addition, as time passes, more and more people are choosing online shopping over conventional shopping. The primary reason behind this is that people can now access a wide range of choices right from the comfort of their homes.
However, it is not just the customers who benefit from this, even brands do as they can offer the same products at reduced prices. This shows that the online shopping industry has benefits for every stakeholder involved.
This is a clear indication the growth potential of this industry is unfathomable, and this trend will continue to tread on an upward slide in the future as well. Nonetheless, the question remains: where do cryptocurrencies fit into the equation? Let’s find out.
Hindrances Of The Current Online Shopping Industry
As you know by now, the online shopping industry is growing at an exceptional pace. However, this growth does come without hindrances and the biggest of which is the conventional financial system. The fact is that our financial systems were never designed to accommodate the scalability of operations brought forward by the rise in the eCommerce industry.
Even now, banks act as an intermediary between retailers and customers. This means one has to open a bank account and deal with other necessary formalities to reap the benefits of online shopping.
This might not sound like much of a hassle, but many people still lack access to a robust banking system. Numbers show that over two billion people from around the globe still lack access to banking. This further contributes towards slowing the growth and accessibility of online shopping platforms.
Cryptocurrencies To The Rescue
The aforementioned gap could be bridged using cryptocurrencies, as all one needs is access to the internet to shop online using cryptocurrencies. Of course, there are other important requirements, such as using a crypto wallet and finding the digital currency of their choice. But, access to the internet could at least get one started on their journey of using cryptocurrencies for online shopping.
Nevertheless, what’s best about using cryptocurrencies for online shopping is shoppers are not required to divulge their personal information on public platforms if they do not want to. But that is not all because there are also other upsides of using cryptocurrencies for online shopping.
For starters, it is a great way to do away with the need for an intermediary such as banking institutions that favour both retailers and their customers. This will contribute greatly towards reducing the price of products while eliminating all the clutter from the online shopping process.
Using cryptocurrencies for online shopping can also help retailers enjoy an enhanced level of autonomy, enabling them to deliver better customer experiences. This also enables customers to enjoy greater privacy with a certainty that their data is not being sold to other third parties.
Apart from all that, the most important benefit is that one can now buy and sell products and services in any place around the world without any exchange rates on transactions. This works in favour of many customers and businesses while also stimulating globalisation further.
Conclusion: Are Cryptocurrencies The Future Of Online Shopping?
It is still difficult to say if cryptocurrencies are the future of online shopping as various factors are at play here, resulting in increased insecurities among authorities. However, it would be fair to say if people could get an easier way to use their cryptocurrencies for online shopping, chances are cryptocurrencies could be the future of online shopping.
For instance, people can now use cryptocurrencies gift cards at platforms like Coingate to shop their favourite brands online. Innovations as such will be dictating the future of cryptocurrencies in online shopping!
