Blockchain — Clear And Secure System
In our previous article, we discussed the online reviews turning into nothing but a loaded marketing instrument whereas well-written fake reviews can be practically indistinguishable from the actual honest ones. However, the new technologies — such as the blockchain — make it possible to create a truly honest system of customer reviews. And Storiqa knows the way to do it.
In a nutshell, the blockchain is a decentralized data storage system — or, in other words, a digital registry of transactions, deals, and contracts made by users. All information about the deal and the parties involved are stored on several computers at once, which ensures the data is safe from cyberattacks and frauds. Open, secure, and safe — these are the key features of the blockchain. And thanks to the blockchain technology, Storiqa will register all buyer-seller interactions — one of the advantages of smart contract transactions, which we already described previously. Since the payment and the arrival of your order is trackable through the blockchain, that means all Storiqa stores will always have an up-to-date information on how many deals they made and how many people bought their items. This information will be used to create the platform-wide store rating (which we will discuss in the future articles), and the customer review system.
Will the real customers please speak up
So, again, why is it so easy to post fake reviews online? Because we can’t check whether the person posting the review is a real buyer or somebody who made up the text based on other people’s opinion or a paid order from the company. However, if only the people who actually ordered the item or service are allowed to post their reviews, this will solve this issue outright. And that is exactly what Booking.com does, for example. And yet this system does not offer a complete protection against fake reviews: companies still can falsify booking orders and get a chance to sneak in a “review” of their own. Why? Because there’s no guaranteed and verifiable confirmation of the payment for the service — and therefore no way to ensure each review is posted by an actual customer.
With Storiqa, the option to leave customer feedback will be open only for the actual buyers — as confirmed by the blockchain record of their order. The transactions are public and cannot be falsified — therefore, you need to actually purchase the item to be able to review it. All reviews will be displayed in the store’s profile and affect its standing in the platform-wide catalog. Moreover, posting reviews is beneficial for the customers themselves — they will gain bonus STQ tokens for each review.
Thanks to this system of honest reviews ensured by smart contracts, customers will be able to make their opinion seen, stores will be able to truly earn an excellent and reliable reputation, and future customers will be able to fully place their trust in other people’s opinion.
