Source | 01 Blockchain
Author | Pua (Malaysia)
Blockchain technology and the Metaverse have attracted a lot of attention recently. Many people believe that finance will be the largest application scenario of blockchain; gaming is the largest application scenario of the Metaverse. In fact, blockchain technology and the Metaverse can also be applied to many industries, such as retail, agriculture, automobile industry, etc. Today, we will take a look at Walmart’s layout in blockchain and the Metaverse, and how to apply blockchain technology and the Metaverse.
Introduction to Walmart
Walmart Inc (Inc) is an American multinational retail company headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas. Walmart ranked first in the list of the world's 500 largest companies from 2014 to 2020 selected by the US Fortune magazine. Walmart is also the world's largest private employer, with more than 2 million employees, making it the world's largest retailer.
Walmart was founded in 1962 by Sam Walton and registered on October 31, 1969. Publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange in 1972. Walmart has 8,500 stores in 15 countries around the world.
Walmart’s revenue in 2020 was US$523 billion and net profit was US$15.2 billion.
Walmart stock price trend
Apply for relevant patents
On January 18, 2022, Walmart submitted 7 applications to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), showing that Walmart is preparing to enter the Metaverse and plans to produce and sell virtual goods, including electronic products, home decoration, toys, etc. , sporting goods and personal care products. Notably, documents filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office also reveal that Walmart plans to create its own NFT.
On the U.S. Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS), Walmart's application submitted on December 30, 2021 stated that it would provide financial services, namely providing and valuing digital tokens to members through a global computer network.
There is currently very limited official news on Walmart’s NFT issues. Now one can only guess. Many people believe that Wal-Mart's launch of NFT is likely to cater to the preferences of a new generation of consumer groups. In addition to catering, some foreign people believe that virtual assets such as NFT may become a popular payment method in the Yuanverse in the future, and payment is crucial to the retail industry. Early deployment is good for Walmart.
accept payment
At the end of 2021, Wal-Mart's chief financial officer stated at the financial report conference that Wal-Mart is willing and allows shoppers to use payment methods if customers need it. It is generally believed that Walmart, as a compliant retail institution, will accept payments in a compliant manner, and the most likely possibility is to launch a stable currency.
Stablecoins combine the relatively stable value of traditional currencies with decentralization and transparency. Stablecoins are more risk-resistant than traditional digital currencies. Walmart hopes to develop a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, which will increase consumer brand loyalty to Walmart and expand its business reach. Wal-Mart, one of the world's top 500 companies, if all its capital circulation is replaced by the stable currency it issues, it will inevitably affect many companies and individuals in reality. It’s just that now various countries are also actively developing central bank CBDC. Time will eventually give us the answer as to how Walmart’s stable currency will develop.
Walmart has partnered with a cryptocurrency ATM company to set up 200 kiosks selling Bitcoin. Walmart now allows customers to purchase Bitcoin at dozens of stores in the United States, which is having an impact on the blockchain industry. After October 2021, customers will be able to buy Bitcoin at machines inside Walmart large stores.
Wal-Mart Communications Director Molly said in an interview that Wal-Mart has 200 kiosks in stores across the United States, which is a step for Wal-Mart to test the market.
It is best known for allowing consumers to exchange coins for banknotes or gift cards; it is a crypto wallet and payments company that specializes in Bitcoin ATM machines, offering services that support the purchase of Bitcoin.
Cash machines in Walmart, USA
Yuanjie Shopping
Walmart is considering using the Metaverse to attract more customers to spend.
Imagine you are having coffee with a friend in the park and she recommends a pair of sneakers. In an instant, shoe options pop into your mind. As the digital image floats by, a detailed description of the style appears before your eyes. There are some details you don’t like, and you ask the AI assistant to fine-tune it. With one swipe, you can grant access to your friends, who can then adjust the lace and color together; with another gesture, you can place an order. Custom orders will ship from the factory later this week.
Keith, Vice President of Innovation Consulting Services at Mastercard, said that in the next few years, mixed reality will be increasingly accepted by commercial enterprises and consumers, thereby changing our lives. In the next decade, we will travel through these hybrid worlds and experience different experiences in different dimensions amidst the paradigm shifts brought about by technological change.
How to grasp the trend and play a good role in the Yuanverse shopping brand is a difficult problem facing Wal-Mart. Walmart participated in the 2017 SXSW conference (the world's largest creative business conference). Together we created a concept video for Walmart, a company that creates transformative digital experiences for Fortune 500 companies and cutting-edge startups. In the Metaverse, avatars browse virtual items on shelves, select them, and put them into their shopping carts. It is worth noting that the data of the avatar is controlled by the system. For example, when a virtual character buys wine, his or her age will be checked; if the product you choose already exists at home, the virtual shopping guide on the side will tell you that the product is out of stock. Need to repurchase. This, in part, paints a picture of the experience of shopping in the Metaverse.
Yuanverse Shopping can improve the shopping experience of e-commerce. However, whether people can accept shopping in the Metaverse and whether relevant technologies and policies are in place will greatly affect the shopping experience in the Metaverse. Walmart has missed the opportunity in e-commerce before and clearly wants to seize the next trend in retail.
Improve transparency and efficiency
The reason why Wal-Mart has been successful in the past is that it always puts customers first as its business purpose. Founder Sam once said, we have only one boss, and that is our customers. The most direct manifestation of Walmart is its daily high-quality customer service and affordable price strategy.
For the retail industry, prices are lower than other stores and require a strong supply chain to support them. Walmart has also successfully built one of the most powerful supply chain systems in the world. Walmart continues to make progress, too. Recently, Walmart has used blockchain to improve and make its supply chain information transparent, provide customers with information and technology, and provide better customer service.
Walmart is always looking for new technologies to optimize its supply chain systems. Blockchain technology is favored by Walmart for its transparency and trust. IBM, a world-renowned Internet technology solutions provider, is also exploring the commercial implementation of blockchain technology. One is that there are actual needs, and the other is that we want to explore how to better implement the technology. The two came together by chance.
Karl, a senior director at Walmart, said Walmart has wanted to create a traceability system for the entire food supply ecosystem for years, but it has been a challenge. Walmart believes that blockchain technology is well suited to solve this problem because of its focus on trust, immutability, and transparency.
In 2018, eight companies including Walmart, IBM, and Nestlé jointly established the Food Safety Alliance (Food Trust) and launched a new platform, IBM Food Trust.
The IBM Food Trust platform is mainly composed of different modules such as food certification, food safety, and food waste. The IBM Food Trust platform is designed to help food system actors—producers, suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers—collaborate with each other to make supply chains more efficient. Rich industry requirements are preset for the food industry supply chain. Smart contract templates and secondary development interfaces. The strength of the IBM Food Trust platform is its ability to provide supply chain transparency and address inefficiencies in product identification.
For example, IBM Food Trust in the IBM Food Trust platform provides instant access to traceability data that can be used to verify links, locations and status in the supply chain and perform traceability queries on products. Another service, IBM Food Trust, is used to upload, manage, store, edit and share descriptive information, inspection results and data review, certified version control, confirmatory verification and real-time sharing.
Customers and merchants can log in to the system to query the required information. All information is public, so customers and businesses will build a level of trust. As more people participate in the platform, its systems will become more trustworthy.
Today, all fresh vegetable suppliers at Walmart's Sam's Club and Walmart Supermarkets have joined the IBM Food Trust platform. Walmart not only saves costs but also enhances brand trust. Walmart's previous efforts have recently borne fruit. Dole Food Company, the world's largest fruit and vegetable manufacturer, announced in 2020 that it plans to comprehensively rectify its food traceability system to Food Trust in 2025. In addition to Dole Food Company, other retail industry players such as Carrefour, Nestlé, Conde Olive Oil and many others have also joined the IBM Food Trust platform.
Although the IBM Food Trust platform seems very powerful, it still has its flaws. MIT scientist Yingma said that blockchain is a good technology, but Yingma does not think it is the best solution for supply chain traceability. Blockchain can only guarantee that the data we upload cannot be changed, but there is no way to guarantee that the data we upload will be accurate.
Although the IBM Food Trust platform still has its shortcomings. However, Walmart is using blockchain technology to gradually improve some of the problems previously encountered in the retail industry, while also increasing customer trust and providing a better experience. Walmart has also proven that blockchain technology can bring more benefits to the retail industry. I believe that more and more people will follow suit in the future and continue to apply blockchain technology to the retail industry.
Other possible blockchain applications at Walmart
How to attract old customers to continue spending is a problem that many retail industries will encounter. Many retail industries have launched points programs, point program alliances, membership clubs and other means to attract customers to continue spending. The retail industry hopes to find more effective, economical and attractive means to increase customer stickiness. Through blockchain technology, the retail industry can design a point model that is immutable and updated in real time, improving the efficiency of customer loyalty programs and saving infrastructure costs.
Coupons are one of the effective means to promote consumer consumption. How to identify the authenticity of coupons has become a difficult problem in the retail industry. The immutability of blockchain technology can provide a solution to this problem. Coupons issued through the blockchain can be traced, fundamentally eliminating coupon fraud. Customers also often face issues such as coupon expiration. Customers can log into the blockchain system to determine the validity period of the coupon and the target product it applies to (for example, some coupons are only valid for certain products). Retailers sometimes face the problem of giving out too many coupons. At this time, the blockchain system can let the industry clearly know how many coupons have been issued, etc.
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标签： #blockchain #walmart #ibm #retail
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