Wal-Mart Patents Blockchain System for Resale Marketplace

Wal-Mart’s interest in blockchain technology isn’t new, as the company is actively working on a blockchain-based supply chain system to replace its existing one. Recent reports now indicate that Wal-Mart has filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office USPTO for a marketplace that would serve for the reselling of already-purchased products.

The patent filing presents the service, as a marketplace that would actively record customer purchases on a blockchain ledger, which then facilitates the sale of the products, as customers would already have proof of purchase.

The idea behind the patent is that generally, customers do not buy items to use for the rest of their lives, therefore are required to arrange a resale at some point in time. Doing so can usually be time-consuming, hence why Wal-Mart wishes to improve the resale process. According to the patent, the system will “provide additional support to greatly ease and facilitate their later reselling of items.”

Some of the other reasons explaining why such a system would be required, include the increasing popularity of non-traditional shopping mechanisms, many of which have been proven to be highly-competitive.

Back in March, Wal-Mart filed for another patent, meant for the development of a smart package delivery system. It has been designed as a blockchain-based platform which facilitates the tracking of package contents, locations, environmental conditions, shipping particularities and more. Last but not least, Wal-Mart has also talked about another blockchain-based system that will operate in their live food operations. Its purpose includes improving transparency of the system, while limiting possible contamination.

At this moment in time, it is unclear when the systems will be deployed for use by the company and its customers. Despite this aspect, the efforts are showing the huge potential of blockchain technology, in a wide variety of industries.