Shopify has partnered with London-based startup Thirdweb to help develop a Web3 Project Commercekit. It claims to be a revolutionary technology for coders to build Web3 software and commerce apps.
According to the United States Census Bureau, online retail is currently 13 percent of all retail sales. Web3 technologies are expected to change the landscape of e-commerce by roping in a bigger-than-ever crypto-native community. Web3 technologies just require superior promotional tools and reward systems.
Shopify and Thirdweb co-created the Commercekit to offer high-performing tools essential for Web3 initiatives. It not only serves the commercial sector but also merges proprietary software with the Web3 framework to attract investors and customers alike. Besides providing multiple services to investors and customers, Commercekit helps Shopify merchants in marketing communication and distributing non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to users.
We’ve spent the last 18 months working closely with Web3 developers and brands interested in building blockchain apps. It became clear that integrating Web3 with commerce had huge demand and we believe Shopify is the best possible partner we could work with to build these tools.
Jake Loo, COO, Thirdweb
What is NFT?
Non-Fungible Token is a type of digital asset that represents ownership or proof of authenticity of a unique item or piece of content like music, artwork, videos or other digital creations. It is much different from cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin as they are fungible and can be exchanged for each other. NFTs, on the other hand, are unique and cannot be exchanged for other tokens at a fixed value.
NFTs are typically created and traded on blockchain platforms, such as Ethereum. They are verified through a process of cryptographic verification ensuring their authenticity and ownership. NFTs are much popular in the art world as they are being used to sell digital art pieces and collectibles. However, NFTs have also been criticized for their high energy consumption and potential impact on the environment.
Shopify has an app for all its art-loving merchants that allows them to mint as well as sell NFTs. Verisart is available for Shopify Plus merchants on the Shopify App Store. It requires no coding for merchants to mint and sell NFTs along with other products featured in their online stores. The only condition is that they must belong to art-related commerce and must have “.art” in their domains.
Customers visiting these art stores can claim NFTs using a dashboard provided by the store owner. Verisart is useful for all merchants and customers as it supports multiple blockchains.
Attracting Customers
Commercekit also comes with a reward scheme that helps in the conversion of prospective consumers and keeps existing buyers. The need of the hour is to upgrade Web3 technologies as per the requirements of consumers. Thirdweb and Shopify have combined their technologies for the all-around development of clients, coders and user experience.
Thirdweb has contributed with contract innovations as Shopify aims to streamline the coders’ jobs. The other revolution that Shopify is eying with Commercekit is to merge Web3 with storefront merchandise.
What is Web3?
Web3 is the third generation of the web that decentralizes and secures the online experience of users. It is an upgrade to Web 2.0, which is dominated by centralized platforms like social media and search engines. Web3 enables peer-to-peer interactions and eliminates the need for intermediaries in online transactions.
Web3 technologies are primarily based on blockchain, which is a decentralized ledger technology for the creation and exchange of digital assets. Web3 technologies work without intermediaries and incorporate technologies like decentralized storage, smart contracts and identity verification. With all this, Web3 promises to provide more security and enable private online transactions.
Web3 has the potential to transform various industries, such as finance, supply chain, and social media, by enabling more secure and transparent online transactions. It also offers new opportunities for developers to build decentralized applications (dApps) and contribute to the growth of the decentralized web.
More About Commercekit
According to Jake Loo, chief operating officer of Thirdweb, it took 18 months for his project managers to develop the Commercekit. For better protection and market requirements, Web3’s coders partnered with other blockchain companies. Leo went on to add that consumers have huge preferences for Web3 and commerce items.
“We’ve spent the last 18 months working closely with Web3 developers and brands interested in building blockchain apps. It became clear that integrating Web3 with commerce had huge demand and we believe Shopify is the best possible partner we could work with to build these tools,” Loo said as quoted by The Fintech Times.
“We’re excited to be combining our best-in-class Web3 development tools with Shopify’s commerce tools, and we truly believe this will kickstart the Web3 commerce revolution,” he added.
Benefit For All
Alex Danco, the director of product creation at Shopify, joined in by saying that Commercekit is crucial for merchants to attract fresh clients. He added that Shopify is planning to launch more tools in association with Thirdweb. Smart contracts and digital wallets are among other commerce tools at the planning stage.
“As a merchant, understanding your customers and finding new buyer segments is mission-critical for running a successful business. We’re excited to partner with Thirdweb, the fastest shipping team in Web3, to help make smart contracts and Web3 wallet addresses an essential part of the commerce and loyalty toolkit,” Danco explained how Commercekit is going to benefit both parties.
In the last year, more than 500,000 coders used resources provided by Thirdweb to build e-commerce apps. On a monthly basis, Thirdweb claims to have helped over 10000 programmers handle 500000 blockchain tasks. The company has also incorporated 200000 smart contracts into over eight blockchain networks.
About Thirdweb
In August last year, Thirdweb raised a Serie A funding of $24 million after reaching a valuation of $160M by Shopify, Coinbase and Haun Ventures. The investment helped Thirdweb increase hiring and acquire business prospects to achieve its objective.
TechCrunch quoted Thirdweb CEO Steven Bartlett as saying that his startup has developed NFTs, DAOs and games with the help of over 80,000 developers in its nine months of existence. Some of these developers come from companies like Afterpay and New York Fashion Week, while others are independent creators.
“Cheaper fees is the straightforward answer,” he said, explaining what makes Polygon the most popular.
“We saw what hard work it was to build the application from the ground up. We realized we could release as a product what we’d built to work on our own app. We wanted to provide blockchain developers with the same kind of easy-to-use infrastructure, and tools, that they have in Web2,” Bartlett said.
