Editorial | Amazon's Super Bright Future Casts A Dark Shadow Over The Threat of Blockchain (For Now)
Amazon is working to improve their Artificial Intelligence (AI) and predictive analytics. Amazon has at least one patent in relation to predictive analytics. At some point in the future Amazon will be able to predict what you want before you do. These are products that you would buy if only you knew about their existence. Amazon’s confidence level in being able to predict you buying habits is low, but I’m sure Amazon will keep throwing money in this area where they will eventually send you products to put in front of you and you will most likely buy it.
How amazing is that?
Imagine a world where AI and predictive analytics will help you manage your life. How many times have come back from the grocery store only to remember that you needed something else. How many times have you been at a store and didn’t know how many rolls of toilet paper or paper towels you had at home? Those are just simple examples.
AI will be bigger than blockchain and quantum computing.
Here is a great article from Harvard Business Review on the topic.
I follow the cryptocurrency market a lot and reading about predictive analytics made me think about the Amazon of the future and how my overall satisfaction with their products and services will be tough to beat.
I wonder if Amazon considers blockchain technology a threat at all within the next twenty years. Amazon has so many awesome services, and is so forward thinking with where they want to go, that I believe their competitors will be fighting for second place for a very long time.
Regardless, new blockchain companies such as INS and CyberMiles believe they can reduce the cost of products and services while also offering a great overall customer experience (interface, customer service, payment options, loyalty programs, etc) by eliminating middle-man layers from centralized platforms and still capture enough market share to survive and be competitive.
I’m a blockchain advocate, but I bet entering and competing in the e-commerce sector is especially challenging. Don’t forget that decentralized systems will leverage smart contracts within blockchain to substitute for the loss of centralized layers. This means it will be more difficult to govern and adapt if weak governance rules are in place. Not to mention, the blockchain world doesn’t “click” as fast for most people in relation to other emerging technologies.
I know that Overstock has dabbled in cryptocurrencies and owns a number of blockchain investments. The market almost considers them a blockchain company according to this cointelegraph article, but will the general public immediately know the difference between Overstock and Overstock (blockchain)?
To conclude, I don’t think Amazon is overly worried about the blockchain world right now or has any plans to start changing into a blockhain-type company.
As long as I keep reading about Amazon’s vision where a future might include underwater warehouses, flying drone delivery, floating blimp warehouses and trucks outfitted with 3D printers, I’m going to stick to my assessment that Amazon has a pretty tight grip on the present and the future of e-commerce.
Images sources - Economist and CoinTelegraph.
Other opinions on this topic:
Is Decentralization A Threat To Amazon?
What Is the Impact of Blockchain Technology on the Future of eCommerce?
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Traversing the Cryptosphere,
Kryptonaut
I think Amazon can adapt to embrace blockchain, even. Suppose there is a decentralized 'like amazon' space on the internet... what's to stop Amazon from making an account and offering it's entire catalogue on that decentralized blockchain?
Just like when the internet arrived you had some companies who didn't hop on that train and others who did. 'The internet' as a whole certainly hurt retail businesses, but the smart retail businesses now how flourishing online stores.
I think a similar thing can and will happen to blockchain technology. Some companies will vanish because they don't adapt but others will survive and perhaps even thrive.
If you read my INS ICO Spotlight it has a section where INS has identified market demand and supply drivers for e-commerce businesses. When we went from brick and mortar to the internet those were just developing and continue very strongly to this day.
Going from a centralized to decentralized system IMO is not as big of a deal for e-commerce consumers. Price, ease of use and convenience is. In other words, consumers don't really care. It can almost be invisible to the user. If I show someone steemit without mentioning that it is run on blockchain - do you think the person will like it more or less after I tell them? I'm guessing they will mostly be indifferent - the main thing they care about is what value the service can bring them.
I feel blockchain will have different impacts on different industries. Right now i'm not yet confident it will have a large initial impact on e-commerce.
I think a lot is determined by cost as well. If decentralized ends up providing the same product or service (more or less) but at a cheaper cost, that will be a main driving force for people to go decentralized. After all, it was one of the selling points of Bitcoins -> no middleman to take a cut in terms of transaction fees, so it was cheaper than traditional methods of sending.
That went out of the window ofcourse when the fees got high, but still it's important: the blockchain variant needs to be better in some way, and cheaper is one of the more obvious forms of better. If it ends up being only slightly cheaper, then consumers may end up using centralized platforms after all... there are some benefits to that too in terms of provided service and warranty etc.
But yes, this uncertainty is why I stay away from 'decentralized ebay' projects and such. No guarantees they're actually going to conquer the userbase.
Nice analysis! I enjoyed reading this one. Resteemed.
Wow Thats a Really bright for our Future life...its intersting and helpfull for all @krypto
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@kryptonaut
Your post dose a great job at depicting the future view of what Amazons footprint will look like.
Awesome information up in this post!
Thanks for the kind words!
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