Web3 is one technology that has moved from an experimental pilot to a more foundational solution. Initially a hype cycle that felt shoehorned into the industry, Web3 is now being integrated into loyalty, settlement and customer experience systems by large brands like Walmart and Amazon. Walmart has used blockchain technology, the foundational technology for Web3, to reduce invoicing disputes.
From payments to earning and redeeming loyalty points, Web3 introduces a new way of moving value. Unlike blockchain alone, Web3 tokenises economic activity, enabling instant and secure value transfers without relying on bank cash flows or multi-day settlements. For retailers, this translates into real-time loyalty rewards, immediate refunds, and personalised pricing triggered at the moment of purchase, driving deeper loyalty and engagement. A retailer at one till can offer a tailored discount based on behaviour, while a second customer receives a different offer entirely, both applied instantly without the friction of conventional settlement systems.
Historically, retailers have been required to hold large contingent liabilities on their balance sheets because rewards must remain redeemable long after they’re issued. These reserves tie up capital, limit flexibility and introduce risk. However, through Web3, these values are tokenised so they can be issued, moved and reconciled instantly. And this changes the economic profile of the loyalty system completely, while opening up the possibility for loyalty redemption at other non-competing retailers.
The financial model changes in other ways, too. Retailers currently pay significant merchant fees when customers transact with cards, but Web3 can reduce this cost base. If a retailer typically pays around 2% on a card transaction, it can redirect that 2% into a combined reward and savings strategy, with one percent back to the customer as an incentive to pay through their digital wallet, while the other 1% becomes an operational saving. The result is a self-funding mechanism for loyalty that grows through the volume of wallet-led payments.
Digital wallets are emerging as central to this future because they hold digital assets rather than deposits, which means retailers can encourage customers to load value into a wallet without being forced into taking deposits or requiring a banking licence. Customers cover the cost of loading the wallet, retailers gain rich behavioural insights, and the balances held in these wallets can generate yield through institutional structures like investment backing provided by global investment firms. This means retailers are creating a model where value grows on both sides instead of sitting idle. For consumers, this is a meaningful change.
Web3 restores control over personal data, and shoppers can choose whether to share information, how frequently, and for what benefit. They can set preferences and limit advertising frequency or expand this for greater reward values. It moves personalisation from being an algorithmic engagement to one that’s defined by the consumer. It also opens the door to cross-brand loyalty, where customers can earn rewards at a coffee shop, redeem them at a garden centre, and value transfers in real-time.
The technology already exists. The benefits are immense. The informal economy is also poised to benefit. Small retailers and spaza shops can deploy the same loyalty infrastructure that enterprise chains use, because Web3 removes the cost and technical barriers that previously made these systems inaccessible.
Web3 is already powering real-time payments and fuel rebates for taxi associations, with settlement delivered instantly to multiple parties in a single transaction. These solutions have never worked on traditional rails due to cost and complexity, but are now viable through tokenised settlement models. This convergence of loyalty, payments and digital wallets is already underway in South Africa.
The biggest benefit? Retailers are able to step into this change in transactional engagement without having to remodel existing infrastructure or undertake extensive operational changes. It’s a relatively smooth gear change that opens the door to new technologies without leaving the retailers overwhelmed by choice or underwhelmed by performance.
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