Cropped image of happy girl using smartphone device while chilling at home
What if you flipped through your Facebook feed, noticed a cool new product you want to buy, and then completed the transaction without any concern over your own privacy or security? That’s the promise of two emerging technologies that will make some inroads with users next year as they start to evolve and mature.
The first, called social commerce, is not a new concept, but it’s safe to say real consumers have not warmed up to the idea quite yet. Most of us see something interesting on social media and then look for a reputable reseller where we can safely purchase the item (say, Amazon). One reason is that we trust the provider. Amazon and other online retailers already store our credit card number, and experience has taught us (for the most part) that these transactions are safe from prying eyes.
Of course, we also know that isn’t always true. When we do a search for a product, we reveal to the social media platforms, Big Tech companies, e-commerce giants, and anyone who cares to drop a cookie in our browser what we like to purchase. They pick up on it pretty quick. In milliseconds, we see similar products pop up on our feed as though it was magic. It seems someone is always watching.
Social commerce is a smart idea for one main reason: it puts products right in your newsfeed where you can buy them. Why bother with Amazon, when that takes an extra click? Someday soon, we’ll start trusting these platforms and do our actual shopping in the feed, including the final credit card transaction. (Watch out if Amazon ever starts a Facebook competitor.) It’s been slow to evolve since misinformation and outright scams on social media are so common. Facebook knows everything about me and gleefully hands it over to advertisers. I doubt we are ready to say: “No problem, here’s my credit card as well!” It doesn’t make sense from a security and privacy standpoint.
An emerging tech idea called Web 3.0 is an attempt to solve that problem. It’s a radical new form of online monetization, such that you could purchase products with a click in your news feed (or anywhere else) and not worry about revealing everything under the sun about yourself, your browsing habits, and your personal tastes.
Web 3.0 is a new architecture for how the web functions, thanks to the blockchain technology that protects our identity and lets us conduct transactions safely.
Well, that’s the promise. Like any emerging technology, there’s the fact of how it operates and what it can do, and then there’s the consumer perception about what it really means. Yes, we can buy products in a few clicks on social media platforms but the perception for now is that it’s a sketchy proposition. You could argue Web 3.0 makes social commerce more viable. You could also argue it’s a shot in the dark for people who don’t even know the room is dark.
I’m hopeful about it, though. We’ve been handing out credit cards for over two decades now. I remember the first forays into e-commerce and how it seemed odd to type in my “digits” to buy something online. Honestly, it still seems odd. Ask anyone who has bought a product and then seen a boatload of ads appear for similar products if they think social commerce is safe. Probably not. Web 3.0 could be the answer, but it’s also too new to know for sure (at least for anyone who isn’t into crypto technology already).
My prediction is that, as the technology behind social commerce and Web 3.0 evolves, so will the users. We’ll begin to see the advantages of anonymity, and how one-click access that is safe and reliable makes sense on social. It might take a bit longer than a year, but who knows? I’m not sure if Amazon should start worrying, but the biggest company in e-commerce should at least start preparing.
