Shopping Better Online With AI and Blockchain Technology

Shopping online is a great way to save time, gas, and unnecessary stress. It is so great that over 220 million people in the United States alone shopped online in 2017. Global e-commerce is expected to double its 2016 numbers by the year 2020.

Shopping has many facets. It is not just the purchase of items. 42% of US shoppers made online purchases last year. But many shoppers, even those who intend to eventually purchase from a brick and mortar establishment, do the majority of their research and decision making online. They do this through broad search engines, online reviews, high quality online retail platforms, and shopping-specific search bases.

However, the trend is definitely moving toward online buying. Over 3,800 geographic footprint stores are projected to close their actual doors in 2018. And this is not a new phenomena. With the exception of high income, experience based shopping establishments in select economic bubbles, retail shopping in the “drive to the store and find things to buy” sense is becoming more and more obsolete.

The obvious trendsetter in the online arena is Amazon. But several blockchain options are currently in existence or in the ICO/development stage, and they are eager to disrupt the monopoly that is Amazon, Amazon Prime, and all the other beautiful things Amazon offers the online consumer.

Several cryptocurrency-based blockchain companies have focused specifically on advertising, a pain point even within Amazon’s seamless interface. Consumers face endless annoyance when faced with a barrage of irrelevant, distracting ads that are poorly suited to their current needs every time they open a search engine or app.

Our digital footprint, forever encased in the search parameters of Google, Facebook, Instagram, and even Amazon, are rarely an accurate representation of our current physical needs. With countless layers of hangers on utilizing the information collected by these media giants, it stands to reason that our information will be used for advertising purposes.

However, the $7.2 billion USD fraud created solely by ad revenue in 2017 tells a different tale. It describes a market that is ripe for criminal gain, poorly managed, and the disseminators of highly innaccurate information. This leads to ineffective audience targeting, low ROI, and constant, seemingly inescapable fraud.

Thankfully, the perpetual problem solvers within the cryptocurrency world have identified the problems and come up with solutions.

Brave, an ad-blocking site, also rewards users with their native BAT token when ads are viewed. Eventually, 70% of the gross ad revenue will be designated specifically for viewers. Brave also offers appealing features like enhanced privacy, faster website loading, and tracker blocking. With a marketcap of $217 million USD, Brave is a strong contender for improving not only the online shopping and ad experience, but also the overall internet user experience.

Eligma focuses less on the ad experience, and more on the shopping and possession management experience e-commerce creates. Eligman’s three pillar discovery, inventory, and loyalty premise creates a robust shopping and value platform for consumers.

Through discovery, shoppers are presented with a range of purchasing options, specifically tailored to suit their preferences. This happens across a broad range of platforms, removing the hassle of jumping from site to site in search of the correct item.

Eligma’s inventory pillar is just that: a concise overview of their current “holdings”, or material possessions. Inventory not only calculates present value, it predicts future value through a unique algorithm that also offers users the option of placing unused items on secondhand exchanges.

But what if there was a solution for both aspects: the advertising and online buying experiences alike? Newcomer Shopin is planning to deliver that solution, with an innovative and comprehensive platform that combines the smooth shopping experience of Eligma with the ad-conscious independence of Brave.

Shopin offers consumers the opportunity to register on their platform, provide verifiable purchase history information, and thereby choose their interactions with retailers searching for a market. Shoppers are then offered rewards via the SHOPIN token, now available for trade and exchange through QRYPTOS.

As Shopin grows, users will gain access to a larger range of retailers. They will be able to specifically designate their unique shopping needs. And Shopin will allow retailers to finally deliver targeted and specific advertisements and user interfaces that meet the needs of specific and voluntary audiences.