The Covid-19 outbreak devastated economies around the world. Supply chain concerns, the Russia-Ukraine war, increasing inflation, and increased interest rates have caused many nations to enter a recession. The US economy, for example, has seen consistent negative growth in recent quarters, indicating a possible recession in the coming months. Similarly, China, Germany, Britain, and others have been experiencing worsening economic conditions.
Ultimately, all of this is having a negative influence on consumption, production, and currency, thus hurting consumers. Consumption levels are falling as many large corporations are laying off employees. Inflation is nearing a pinnacle in several countries, causing basic goods costs to rise. In the UK, inflation has hit 10.1%, a new 40-year high. Moreover, global currencies are taking a huge hit in value. The Indian rupee, for example, has declined by more than 5% against the US dollar in a matter of weeks.
Rising Inflation and E-commerce
Inflation has peaked in most nations. Energy bills, petrol, and diesel costs have skyrocketed. Even food prices have surged as a result of reduced grain supply from Ukraine. Rising interest rates have also raised the cost of mortgage payments for homeowners. Another major factor of inflation has been supply chain shock as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war, Taiwan-China tensions, and the remnants of Covid.
However, there are several solutions that could help lower inflation to some extent. The e-commerce industry, in particular, is addressing the consumption side of the issue by preserving customer demand stability. The sheer nature of e-commerce gives buyers a wide range of options, from cheap to expensive things. This has helped in maintaining the demand stability and consequently consumption levels.
Furthermore, it removes the costs of middlemen, lowering the price of items. Similarly, operational and administration costs in e-commerce are negligible when compared to conventional commerce. This has further maintained a reasonable price for any product, keeping it affordable even during periods of high inflation.
Web3 Commerce: An Emerging Solution
Tackling economic downturns is difficult, but e-commerce has performed better despite inflation, mitigating the overall negative impact on the economy. Web3 commerce takes this to the next level. It promises to lower costs while also introducing innovations. It promotes transparency by allowing brands to connect and access all of their e-commerce operations—order sources, partners, tools, transactions, and data—from a unified platform.
It also assists consumers by providing a more customized, traceable, and secure e-commerce experience. Brands will be able to provide the customized products, promotions, and shopping experiences that their customers desire. In terms of security, blockchain-based crypto payments have the potential to drastically minimize fraud and trace transactions from the time a customer clicks purchase until a package arrives at their door.
While this new type of e-commerce is still in its early stages, a few platforms have already built the groundwork. Exeno is one such platform that offers its consumers a Web3 shopping experience. In addition to the diverse range of products, exeno is also working on solutions for companies that want to implement crypto payments.
The platform is powered by the exeno coin (EXN), a utility coin with applications inside the exeno ecosystem. It will provide a variety of benefits to users, like Stake Back programs (similar to cash back but designed for crypto commerce), referral programs, and so on.
Overcoming the Fiat Legacy
Fiat currencies have long served as the lifeblood of global trade and economies. However, its inefficiency manifests itself only at times of economic crisis. However, with the advent of Web3 and crypto commerce, things are expected to improve. It has the potential to give enormous stability during a recession by preserving consumer demand and removing superfluous expenses. Traditional systems will soon be replaced by efficient blockchain-based processes, and fiat will see a better alternative.
