Blockchain technology is set to revolutionise the retail industry, according to a new report from Deloitte.

The auditing giant has released research predicting that suppliers and vendors alike could all benefit from embracing blockchain at a higher level.

The report looks at 50 use cases for blockchain across both the retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) sectors, ranging from supply chain, payments and more, and found that the technology could potentially help ameliorate issues in every one.

This includes four so-called major “pain points” of the industry, namely traceability, compliance, stakeholder management, and flexibility.

Transform

In the report, Deloitte stated that blockchain is set to become “a standard operational technology across the financial, manufacturing and consumer industries,” and that the next five years will see a “tipping point” as more and more businesses see the potential value of the technology.

The company highlighted recent figures from Gartner that estimate the business value-add of blockchain is set to grow to $176bn by 2025, and exceed $3.1tn by 2030.

"As with any new technology, there are a number of potential pitfalls associated with the deployment of blockchain," said Steve Larke, partner, technology consulting at Deloitte. "It the therefore important for businesses to have a carefully planned strategy in place before pursuing opportunities at scale."

"While we fully expect blockchain technology to achieve widespread, mainstream adoption in the retail and consumer packaged good industries, we firmly believe that long-term, sustainable success is only possible through careful planning."