When it comes to purchasing products directly from trustworthy, legitimate retailers, there is very little cause for concern regarding the authenticity of the products being shipped to you. When you are purchasing products from third-party resources, however, it can be easier to be hesitant when clicking on the checkout button.
When it comes to purchasing products directly from trustworthy, legitimate retailers, there is very little cause for concern regarding the authenticity of the products being shipped to you. When you are purchasing products from third-party resources, however, it can be easier to be hesitant when clicking on the checkout button.
We are trying to push consumer protection 3.0 by putting the tools in the end consumers’ hands. There are no apps to download – consumers simply use their smartphones to scan a QR-code to verify the authenticity of an item. (David Menard - CEO of the Real Items Foundation)
The solution? The Real Items Foundation believes that it lies in its new Shopify plugin.
The San Francisco-based startup recently unveiled a plugin that utilizes blockchain technology and cloud-based technology to produce non-fungible tokens that can be attached to physical assets produced by various brands. Should a customer purchase one of these products with a token attached to it, they can then scan the product to validate its authenticity, which further protects consumers from fraud.
According to the CEO of the Real Items Foundation, David Menard, quite a few companies, which fall into major industries like the wellness, cosmetic, and fashion industries, are privately testing their beta plugin. The goal of this product? To protect consumers without all of the additional applications or hoops that often come with other products. Menard explains the purpose and functionality of their new tool in the statement below:
“We are trying to push consumer protection 3.0 by putting the tools in the end consumers’ hands. There are no apps to download – consumers simply use their smartphones to scan a QR-code to verify the authenticity of an item. Consumers can also use WeChat to scan items to ensure that they are real.”
Menard goes on to explain that Shopify is one of the largest e-commerce platforms available today, but it is still not exempt from having vendors that sell fraudulent products to their customer base. Using the Shopify plugin, customers can make sure that they are only purchasing from reliable vendors, which improves the Shopify ecosystem as a whole.
Better yet, the Real Items Foundation doesn’t have to worry about the many other issues that befall crypto organizations as they do not provide wallets or utility tokens for their users. Eliminating these features makes the plugin far easier to use on all ends. Of course, Menard also addressed this potential issue of adoption in regard to the organization’s plugin:
“Since we use NFTs, we aren't generating or distributing anything close to a security. We maintain the smart contract balances for enterprise making it as frictionless as possible to adopt blockchain for business. Using our plugin enables brands to use a public blockchain for product authenticity and consumer engagement.”
This new consumer-focused Shopify plugin is expected to be ready for launch in the first quarter of this year.
