Can Blockchain Save Struggling Retailers?

Posted 2021-04-29 兰链

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Published February 05, 2018MarketsMotley Fool | fox business

As an investor who's on the outside looking in, I can truly say that the cryptocurrency market has been something to marvel since the beginning of 2017. Last year alone, the market cap of all digital currencies added together surged higher by more than 3,300% to $613 billion. It then vaulted higher by another $222 billion in the first week of January 2018 before finally cooling off a bit. Still, the increase in value for virtual currencies would have otherwise taken the broad-based S&P 500 decades to accomplish. It's been unlike an asset class we've ever seen.

作为一名外部投资者，我真的可以说，自2017年以来，加密货币市场一直令人惊叹。仅去年一年，所有数字货币加起来的市值就一起上涨了3300多％ 613亿美元。 然后在2018年1月的第一周再次跳高2220亿美元，然后终于冷静下来。 尽管如此，虚拟货币的价值增长本来需要基础广泛的标准普尔500年来完成。 这与我们所见过的资产类别不同。

Ushering in the era of blockchain

迎来区块链时代

At the heart of this rally is blockchain technologyOpens a New Window.. Blockchain is the digital, distributed, and decentralized ledger that underpins cryptocurrencies and is tasked with recording all transactions without the need for a financial intermediary. In plainer English, think of blockchain as the foundation upon which virtual currencies are built upon.

这次集会的核心是区块链技术打开一个新窗口。区块链是数字化，分布式和分散式分类账，支撑加密货币，并负责记录所有交易，而无需金融中介。 在普通英语中，将区块链视为建立虚拟货币的基础。

The evolution of blockchain derives from a number of perceived flaws with the current banking system, such as having banks act as a third party in all transactions, and potentially taking days for payments to settle, especially if they're sent across borders. The purpose of blockchain is to reduce transaction costs, while expediting the settlement of transactions without sacrificing security.

区块链的演变来源于当前银行体系存在的一些已知缺陷，例如银行在所有交易中都充当第三方，并且可能需要花费数天时间才能解决，特别是如果它们跨境发送的话。 区块链的目的是降低交易成本，同时在不牺牲安全性的情况下加快交易结算。

The first advantage of blockchain is its decentralization. Rather than storing transaction data at a single location, this information is found on hard drives and servers all over the globe. Doing so prevents a single entity or hacker from gaining control of a network and virtual currency.

区块链的第一个优势是其分散化。 这些信息可以在全球各地的硬盘驱动器和服务器上找到，而不是将交易数据存储在单个位置。 这样做可以防止单个实体或黑客获得对网络和虚拟货币的控制权。

Second, there's the expectation that transaction fees could decline. Since there is no bank involvement with blockchain-processed transactions, there are fewer mouths to feed, so to speak.

其次，交易费用有可能下降。 由于银行没有参与区块链处理的交易，可以这么说，需要的人力资源更少。

And most importantly, since blockchain transactions are being proofed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the settlement time for many of the hottest blockchains is a few seconds to perhaps a few minutes. This would knock the socks off of traditional banksOpens a New Window. that can take up to five days to verify cross-border transactions.

而最重要的是，由于区块链交易每周七天，每天24小时都在进行证实，所以许多最热门的区块链的结算时间只有几秒到几分钟。 这将打破传统银行的开放窗口。 这可能需要五天的时间才能验证跨境交易。

In short, blockchain could offer sweeping improvements to the financial services industry. However, its application may go well beyond currencies.

总之，区块链可以为金融服务行业提供全面的改善。 但是，其应用可能远远超出货币。

Could blockchain save struggling retailers?

区块链可以拯救挣扎的零售商吗？

The application of blockchain technology is currently being tested in the logistics, healthcare, energy, and retail industries, all with unique purposes.

区块链技术的应用目前正在物流，医疗保健，能源和零售行业进行测试，所有这些都有其独特的用途。

You see, blockchain data is considered immutable, which is just a fancy way of saying it can't be changed or altered. Blockchain ditches clumsy paper documents and digitizes things to make them more efficient and legally binding. Hospitals like the idea of blockchain, since it could mean a safer place to store health records, while the logistics companies could consider blockchain as a means to more efficiently and transparently track the location and performance of goods through a supply chain.

你看，区块链数据被认为是不可变的，这只是一种说法不能改变或改变的奇特方式。 区块链沟通笨拙的纸质文件并将其数字化以使其更具效率和具有法律约束力。 医院喜欢区块链的概念，因为它可能意味着存储健康记录的更安全的地方，而物流公司可以将区块链视为通过供应链更高效并透明地跟踪货物的位置和性能的一种手段。

But among the aforementioned industries currently piloting blockchain projects, it's retail -- specifically brick-and-mortar retail -- that could have the most to gain.

但是，在目前试行区块链项目的上述行业中，零售 - 特别是实体零售 - 可能获得最大收益。

First, retailers would be able to take advantage of the efficiency and transparency of blockchain-supported supply chains. Being able to track a good from the factory to the store would allow that retailer to precisely pinpoint where things are going wrong (if they're going wrong). It may also act to reassure consumers by noting the specific region or country where a product originated, and maintaining records of certain quality specifications a product may have undergone during its manufacturing process. This added transparency could be the trick that allows brick-and-mortar retailers to lure consumers away from the impersonal, but often cheaper, internet-based shopping experience.

首先，零售商将能够利用区块链支持的供应链的效率和透明度。 能够从工厂到商店追踪货物将允许零售商准确地查明事情发生错误的地方（如果他们出错了）。 它还可以通过注意产品产生的特定地区或国家来保证消费者的安全，并且保持产品在其制造过程中经历的某些质量规格的记录。 这种增加的透明度可能是让实体零售商吸引消费者远离非客观但通常更便宜的基于互联网的购物体验的技巧。

The other possibility here is that a tethered cryptocurrency could be created and used in place of a current loyalty program to create a value-based rewards system that keeps consumers coming back. In other words, remove the current loyalty programs that can result in adverse errors for a business (e.g., extra rewards handed out to consumers), and implement a virtual coin-based reward that can only be redeemed within a store or chain of stores.

这里的另一种可能性是，可以创建和使用有系统的加密货币来代替当前的忠诚度计划，以创建一个以价值为基础的奖励系统，让消费者回来。 换句话说，删除当前的忠诚计划可能会导致企业出现不利的错误（例如，向消费者分发的额外奖励），并实施只能在商店或连锁店内兑换的基于虚拟硬币的奖励。

These retailers might be able to use blockchain and cryptocurrencies to their advantage

这些零售商可能能够利用区块链和加密货币来获利

Recently, a report from ValuePenguin examined a number of retailersOpens a New Window. that could consider an initial coin offering to create a loyalty program that would boost foot traffic, consumer interest, loyalty, and even investment in the brand. Topping its list was struggling retailer Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD).

最近，ValuePenguin的一份报告审查了一些零售商打开新窗口。 这可能会考虑提供最初的硬币来创建忠诚度计划，从而提高人流量，消费者兴趣，忠诚度，甚至是品牌投资。 排名靠前的是零售商Sears Holdings（纳斯达克股票代码：SHLD）。

Sears has more than $4 billion in net debt, has closed hundreds of its Kmart and Sears locationsOpens a New Window. to reduce its cash burn, and has on multiple occasions borrowed directly from its CEO, Eddie Lampert. Adding fuel to the fire, Sears jettisoned nearly all of its rights to the Craftsman tool brand to Stanley Black & Decker, and last summer it agreed to sell Kenmore products on Amazon.com, the e-commerce giant that's effectively killing Sears. But an initial coin offering could buy the struggling retailer more time to figure out how best to transform its business.

西尔斯净债务超过40亿美元，已经关闭了数百个凯马特和西尔斯地区，开启了新窗口。 以减少其现金消耗，并曾多次直接从首席执行官埃迪兰伯特借来。 西尔斯几乎把所有权利都交给了斯坦利布莱克戴克的Craftsman工具品牌，去年夏天它同意在亚马逊网站上销售肯莫尔的产品，后者是有效杀死西尔斯的电子商务巨头。 但最初的硬币收购可能会让陷入困境的零售商有更多时间了解如何最好地改变业务。

Creating a "Sears coin," or whatever it would want to call it, could potentially replace some the steep discounts it has been passing along to bring consumers into its stores. By instead offering coins with each transaction, and perhaps stepped-up coin values based on the size of the transaction, Sears could create its own "currency" that consumers could then come back and spend. Plus, it eliminates the hassle on the employees' end of having to keep track of these virtual coins, as the blockchain data would be immutable.

创建一个“西尔斯硬币”，或者任何它想称之为的东西，都可能取代一些它将消费者带入其商店的巨大折扣。 通过在每笔交易中提供硬币，并且可能根据交易规模提高硬币价值，西尔斯可以创建自己的“货币”，然后消费者可以回来消费。 此外，它消除了员工不得不跟踪这些虚拟硬币的麻烦，因为区块链数据是不可变的。

Another potential beneficiary is video game and accessories retailer GameStop (NYSE: GME). Though GameStop is in far better shape than Sears and remains very profitable, all things considered, it's expected to continue losing ground to streaming gaming services. The days of buying hardware and physical CDs may dwindle further, pressuring the brick-and-mortar gaming model that it's built. Though GameStop has pushed solidly into digital gaming, it's still a somewhat small percentage of total sales. A blockchain-backed gaming coin, however, could flip its fortune.

另一个潜在的受益者是视频游戏和配件零售商GameStop（NYSE：GME）。 虽然GameStop比西尔斯的形状要好得多，并且仍然非常有利可图，但所有事情都考虑到了，它预计会继续失去对流式游戏服务的支持。 购买硬件和物理CD的日子可能会进一步缩短，为其建造的实体游戏模型施加压力。 尽管GameStop在数字游戏领域扎实推进，但其总销售额仍占有一定比例。 然而，由区块链支持的游戏硬币可能会颠覆其财富。

Just thinking off the cuff here, GameStop could reward customers who purchase new titles with virtual loyalty coins that can be used for in-game software upgrades and accessories. It could also choose to provide virtual coin bonuses for used games, which have traditionally been high-margin bread-and-butter for GameStop.

只需在这里考虑袖口，GameStop就可以奖励购买新游戏的顾客，并使用可用于游戏内软件升级和配件的虚拟忠诚硬币。 它也可以选择为二手游戏提供虚拟硬币奖金，这些游戏一直是GameStop的高利润面包和黄油。

The big blockchain question yet to be answered

大区块链问题尚未得到解答

The real issueOpens a New Window. at this point is whether blockchain is ready for real-world application. It's undergone plenty of demos and small-scale tests, but it's an unproven technology on a large scale. There's also the issue that the barrier to entry in blockchain is pretty low, meaning today's top-tier networks could become obsolete overnight.

真正的问题打开一个新窗口。 在这一点上区块链是否准备好了现实世界的应用让人怀疑。 它经历了大量的演示和小规模测试，但这是未经证实的大规模的技术。 还有一个问题，即进入区块链的门槛很低，这意味着今天的顶级网络可能会在一夜之间过时。

It wouldn't surprise me one bit to see retailers leapfrog the financial services industry in using blockchain on a broader scale. However, I'm worried that by the time blockchain is ready to make that leap, many of today's struggling brick-and-mortar retailers will have succumbed to the Amazons of the world and crumbled to the ground.

如果零售商在更广泛的范围内使用区块链，就会跳过金融服务行业，这并不会让我感到吃惊。 不过，我担心，当区块链准备好实现这一飞跃的时候，今天许多挣扎的实体零售商将会屈服于的亚马逊丛林般的世界并崩溃在地。

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