Deep Dive: Blockchain Mini-Series— Retail Applications

Executive Summary

This is the second report of our Blockchain Mini-Series, in which we cover the potential applications of blockchain technology in retail and supply-chain management:

• Blockchain technology creates a secure ledger that stores transaction records over a decentralized network. This eliminates the need for third-party verification and enables real-time information exchange.
• The application of blockchain technology can solve some of the following challenges for retailers: the risks associated with operating centralized databases, the risk of third parties’ counterfeiting branded goods, supply-chain opaqueness and incompatible databases across different supply-chain nodes.
• Since blockchain technology is still in its infancy stage, companies will likely face significant adoption challenges, which is why we believe it will have a mid- to long-term impact on the industry rather than in the immediate future. While mass adoption is still far off, companies would be wise to start preparing for the shift today.