There is no doubt that ecommerce businesses have been one of the major industries of the modern age. It has opened wide doors of opportunities and enabled businesses to enjoy global visibility, thereby increasing sales. According to Statista, global ecommerce sales amounted to $2.3 trillion in 2017 with a upward projection of $4.8 trillion by 2021¹. Many companies that have joined the train early have now become ecommerce stalwarts as they offer customers the superior ease of transacting business anywhere.

With its great advantages, however, it is often backlashed due to various issues with data security. It is a fact that the biggest companies in the business have thrived by selling customers’ data to third parties. As such, customers receive unsolicited adverts and upsell recommendations. An example of this is the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data scandal which sparked a huge public outcry². Issues like these are usually the reasons why many people typically opt for the traditional in-store businesses where they do not have to divulge sensitive information.

Also, the business model is too centralized; and in a bid to accommodate increasing business needs, companies spend more money on infrastructure. They also need to employ effective strategies that could help them guard against consumers’ data breach by hackers. Customers usually bear the brunt of these challenges as the sellers increase the prices of their goods.

Blockchain has been touted as the savior of business by many tech evangelists. In fact, there have been some blockchain startups that have emerged in recent times, seeking to harmonise ecommerce with blockchain technology. But many of these either do not have the technical knowledge of how it works or they have become frustrated because what they anticipated had not worked out and had thus abandoned the project. No matter how difficult it is, there is no denying of the fact that blockchain will bring great improvements to businesses, and especially ecommerce, if some of the challenges facing it is solved.

Other companies that have launched successfully into the space have not enjoyed good traction because they are too complicated for the novice. Most people do not know the rudiments of the blockchain technology. They typically need to purchase cryptocurrencies to access the benefits afforded by the blockchain. Also, due to the fact that cryptos are volatile, they cannot be used as a stable means of transaction.

Plaza Ecosystem

It is in light if these challenges that Plaza is introducing the Total bCommerce vision which comprises of the Plaza MerchantChain and Plaza Freedom Lifestyle.

1. Plaza MerchantChain

Startups need a suite of complete business solutions that is built on blockchain to cater for scalability. MerchantChain offers businesses the opportunity of a scalable, future-proof distributed ledger which allows them to process transactions with lightening speed and high security. It has the latest security standards and is sustainable for the long run.

It allows transactions through the Merchant Coin (MTC), a stable coin that is backed by real value and pegged at 1:1 to their denominated asset which makes it immune from cryptocurrency volatilities. Various businesses can mint their own coins for their transactions.

The coins are mined using the PlazaConcierge smart device which grants every miner the opportunity to earn royalties by using multiple criteria to determine the value each witness gets. (More information about MerchantChain and MTCs can be found in the yellow paper).

2. Plaza Freedom Lifestyle

Businesses which thrive are those which are consumer-centric. Plaza Freedom Lifestyle offers businesses the opportunity of designing ecommerce tools which makes it convenient and rewarding for customers. Issues with payment processing and unredeemed loyalty points are resolved. These tools include the PlazaWallet which stores cryptocurrencies, PlazaCards which enables them to shop on the move and also enables them to withdraw their rewards in local currency at ATMs. PlazaDesktop and PlazaMobile which are applications which provide intuitive user experiences customers love and PlazaConcierge which is a smart speaker that can mint coins and also act as a personal assistant.

Plaza tokens are the fuel of the Plaza ecosystem. Users are rewarded with Plaza tokens when they complete actions that are beneficial to the ecosystem such as instant cashbacks on purchases and so on.

Businesses can succeed on the blockchain if they know how to overcome the challenges of the blockchain which is what Plaza is offering. You might want to check them out to know more features and more details about the amazing platform at the website.

Information about Token Sale

The token sale is ongoing at the moment with 211,712,500 PLAZA (35, 445ETH) sold. The tokens are currently sold for 1 ETH per 5000 PLAZA. The softcap has been met. The public sale ends on 15th November 2018.
For more information about the project or the token, visit the website, whitepaper, yellowpaper.

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This article was written by Paul Omits.

Bounty0x full name: Omitusa Oluwafemi
Bounty0x username: omitusaf