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Shopify launches range of new NFT features for online retailers

June 22, 2022 10:35 pm

Global e-commerce provider Shopify , which allows small businesses to create custom e-commerce shops, has launched a new service to enable customers to use NFTs to unlock special perks, products and real-world experiences with merchants.

“Invite your community into a world that recognizes and rewards loyalty,” an official tweet explained in Shopify’s announcement video, which features a skateboarding woman who goes through a pastel portal and turns into a Doodles NFT.”

“Token holders connect a crypto wallet to unlock exclusive shopping experiences, from early access to drops and limited collections to one-of-a-kind experiences and other surprises,” the video explains.”

The idea behind launching NFTs are a kind of loyalty card — in the form of a cryptographic key — that a brand’s top fans can use to access exclusive items.

The current crash in the crypto markets has hit NFTs as well. But Alex Danco, head of blockchain at Shopify, says he is excited about the current market because it removes bad projects and is good for focusing on actual utility NFTs can be used to help merchants and decreases the interest in pure speculation.

Danco also added that other utility of NFTs is collaboration between brands, especially between Web3 and non-Web3 companies,

By far, Shopify has already partnered with a number of projects, including Adam Bomb Squad, Doodles, World of Women, Invisible Friends, Superplastic, Stapleverse, and Cool Cats NFT collections to create token-gated storefronts.

The move is not Shopify’s first foray into NFTs, the Canadian e-commerce company has already released NFT sales through its platform last year.  On Shopify, brands can mint and sell NFTs to customers on Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, or Flow.