Amazon Prime Day has now become a staple of the consumer economy and many customers are raring to score cheap deals and possibly free giveaways. These giveaways allow Amazon customers to sign up for an item tailored to their purchasing history in exchange for watching a 30 second video.
There are quite a few pitfalls to such giveaways from the consumer perspective. For one, people have weak trust in lottery systems. Running a raffle for something simple, like a free drink or a t-shirt might work on the micro level, but on the macro level, a lottery with potentially millions of entrants would cause concern especially if the entity running the lottery is a for-profit entity like Amazon.
Blockchain provides a solution to such a problem. For example, a blockchain-powered smart contract can ensure that transactions for a lottery can be trustless. The assets could be placed in the contract first, the program then purchases the prizes, and then users are picked directly by the contract. This eliminates the problem behind multiple entries, forgeries, and the creeping thought that the organization itself is picking who to give away the item to.
Small problems like a giveaway may seem “boring” but also hint at blockchain’s overall potential. Eventually, every small problem could be solved by blockchain. By building your own giveaway system using blockchain, businesses can save costs while improving efficiency.
