Web3.0 eCommerce,
emergence of the “non-fungible asset”

Web3 eCommerce - the Non-Fungible Asset

Web3 eCommerce solutions leverage Non-Fungible Token (NFT) smart contract blockchain technology.  A NFT has a unique identity, can reference real-world assets (things, goods or services), hold asset metadata and log transactions. 

NFT domains link

Asset

Refers to digital or real-world assets that owners of the NFT are entitled to, in addition to the NFT itself.  examples:  real estate, intellectual property

Utility

Refers to benefits that directly arise from ownership of the NFT.  example: private membership, access to something, physical merchandise

"Utility NFTs may grant someone access to an event, include a smart contract for ownership of a physical good, or even give the owner voting rights within an organization." (more) 

"NFT projects add utility from the start, like Coachella Collectibles, which grants holders a lifetime pass to the music festival, alongside other benefits like unique on-site experiences and physical goods." (more)

Non-Fungible Asset (definition)

real-life object which is

• Unique

• Irreplaceable

• Non-interchangeable

Non-Fungible Assets eCommerce use-cases

• Airline sales of a specific seat on a flight

• Real Estate sales of a specific property

• Vacation Rental Booking of a specific property

• Sale of a specific seat for a sports event

• Precious gem sales

• Hair stylist reservation at salon

• Metaverse: sale of a specific piece of land or parcel

• Unique retail item being sold (serial number)

• Unique digital artwork being sold

• Unique digital avatar wearable being sold (serial number)

• Uber/Lift driver, selling a specific driver with a rating

• Used car sales, selling a specific car with a history

Web3 eCommerce is very different from traditional Web2 eCommerce.  Web3 eCommerce capabilities shown below are driven from asset level metadata.

Web3 eCommerce Platform Capabilities

• attribute (trait) based facetted filtering, search and navigation

• attribute based hyper-personalized and real time targeting and personalized browsing

• digital wallet containing profile, preferences, credentials and, assets, payments

• interoperability between virtual and physical worlds leveraging AR/VR.

• virtual showrooms. customizable asset previewing

• customer support AI chat and avatar based interactions

• gamifying ecommerce

• loyalty programs driving asset and brand value

• immutable asset transaction history

• attribute based dynamic pricing

These capabilities require a level of data granularity that goes well beyond that needed by Web2.0 product based transactions. Note in the model below that attribute values, dynamic pricing and availability are maintained at the asset level. 

"Semantic metadata is deeply interlinked and richly contextualized." (good overview)

Non-Fungible Asset (NFA) eCommerce User Experience

NFA eCommerce user experiences are primarily driven by data and metadata at the individual asset level.   

Opensea Facetted filter views, price, quantity, and asset images are directly pulled from asset data.  The Decentraland NFT land sell has land metadata of type, distance to district, distance to plaza, size, x, y.

Zillow real estate site (Web 2.0 eCommerce site) is almost entirely driven from non-fungible asset data (real estate properties).  All of the facetted filters on the top are dynamically constructed from raw asset data.  The map and list views show individual property assets.  The content within these view is constructed from property attribute values.

Metamask digital wallet consists of customer owned non-fungible assets.

Decentraland metaverse avatar and associated wearables.  Wearable was purchased on different application and put in wallet and made available in metaverse.  Wearing these glasses allows this user to play at the poker table.

Decentralized Application (dApp) where glasses are used to play poker

Metaverse poker place with other avatars.  Each player has a set of wearables that allow them to play.

Emergence of Non-Fungible Asset (NFA) eCommerce

The transition to NFA eCommerce is already happening in the Web2.0.   Sites like Zillow and VRBO that emphasis the property, Uber that emphasis the driver, and American Airlines that emphasis the seat are leading the way. Web2.0 NFA Commerce

Web3 eCommerce is solidifying this trend with the introduction of the NFT.   Web3 eCommerce sites are creating unique value out of traditional commodity items like a set of sunglasses.  Where your sun glasses have unique identity, a transaction history and provide unique value in curtain circumstances.  

Shoe companies are selling a set of shoes along with a digital NFT that provides them unique digital shoe wearables to be used in the metaverse.

Ticketmaster is selling sporting event tickets that include a NFT memorabilia that allows the customer to save and remember that event.

Over the past year we have seen mainstream eCommerce enter the fray with Amazon and Shopify providing fully integrated NFT solutions.  

Places to find NFA metadata standardization

Solution providers are just starting to address the metadata side of NFA eCommerce.  Most Web2 and Web3 NFA eCommerce solutions are building their solutions on custom proprietary metadata models.   Companies like OpenSea and Binance are some of the early adopters in providing standards in NFT metadata standards.  

• Metadata standards communities like Ethereum.org with ERC-721/ERC-1155, OpenSea/Binance NFT Trait standards, Schema.org JSON Schemas, Open Geospatial Community (OGC) standards.

• Commercial Vendors like Commerce Tools and Bluestone PIM are starting to introduce advanced eCommerce features that incorporate robust metadata principles.  

• Opensource tools like ODOO provide extensible platforms for building out these capabilities.    

• Communities like MACH present architectural patterns that support the blending of custom built capabilities with commercial and open source components.

• Every vertical industry has their Web3 eCommerce experts.  Reach out and leverage these experts to better understand data and metadata requirements.

Conclusion

Non-Fungible Asset (NFA) eCommerce is emerging within both Web2.0 and Web3.0.  NFA eCommerce provides an enhanced user experience over traditional Web2.0 product solutions.   

Commercial eCommerce platforms are just starting to provide features needed to deliver on NFA eCommerce.  There are very few platforms that support robust Web3 metadata management.   

We at Rich Canvas are building out our toolbox and vigorously running experiments to establish best practices and standards for constructing modern Web3 eCommerce solutions. 

"Non-Fungible Asset" eCommerce Experiment