Keywords
Retail
Logistics
Supply Chain
Industry 4.0
How to Cite
Abstract
Objective: To analyze the contributions of blockchain technology to retail management, focusing on logistics and supply chains, by identifying applications, benefits, adoption barriers, and trends in international scientific production between 2020 and 2025.
Methodology: The study adopted a mixed-methods approach, combining bibliometric analysis and narrative literature review. Bibliographic data were collected from the Scopus database in April 2026, using studies published between 2020 and 2025 related to blockchain, retail, logistics, and supply chain management. Indicators of scientific evolution, thematic trends, organizational applications, and implementation barriers were analyzed.
Main Results: The findings reveal significant growth in research on blockchain applied to retail and SCM during the analyzed period. The most recurrent applications involve product traceability, merchandise authentication, omnichannel integration, and smart contracts. The results indicate that blockchain can enhance transparency, trust, and operational efficiency, especially when integrated with IoT, artificial intelligence, and big data analytics. However, barriers related to implementation costs, interoperability, integration with legacy systems, and collaborative governance still persist.
Contributions: The study connects blockchain literature with classical debates on retail management and supply chain management, demonstrating that the value of the technology depends on its adherence to concrete organizational problems and its integration with other digital capabilities.
References
Casino, F., Dasaklis, T. K., & Patsakis, C. (2019). A systematic literature review of blockchain-based applications: current status, classification and open issues. Telematics and Informatics, 36, pp. 55-81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2018.11.006
Christopher, M. (2016). Logistics and supply chain management (5th ed.). Pearson.
Donthu, N., Kumar, S., Mukherjee, D., Pandey, N., & Lim, W. M. (2021). How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 133, pp. 285-296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.04.070
Eloi, R. (2024). Adoção do blockchain em pequenas e médias empresas brasileiras: fatores determinantes e implicações competitivas. Dissertação (Mestrado em Administração). Universidade Paulista. https://repositorio.unip.br/administracao-dissertacoes-teses/fatores-determinantes-para-adocao-da-tecnologia-blockchain-estudo-com-pequenas-e-medias-empresas-no-brasil/
Ferrari, R. (2015). Writing narrative style literature reviews. Medical Writing, 24(4), pp. 230-235. https://doi.org/10.1179/2047480615Z.000000000329
Greenhalgh, T., Thorne, S., & Malterud, K. (2018). Time to challenge the spurious hierarchy of systematic over narrative reviews?. European journal of clinical investigation, 48(6), e12931. https://doi.org/10.1111/eci.12931
Haber, S., & Stornetta, W. S. (1991). How to time-stamp a digital document. Journal of Cryptology, 3(2), pp. 99-111. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00196791
Hübner, A., Wollenburg, J., & Holzapfel, A. (2016). Retail logistics in the transition from multi-channel to omni-channel. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 46(6/7), pp. 562-583. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPDLM-08-2015-0179
Hübschke, M., Buss, E., Holschbach, E., & Lier, S. (2025). Blockchain in supply chain management: a comprehensive review of success measurement methods. Management Review Quarterly, pp. 1-55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-025-00546-0
Karaduman, Ö., & Gülhas, G. (2025). Blockchain-enabled supply chain management: A review of security, traceability, and data integrity amid the evolving systemic demand. Applied Sciences, 15(9), 5168. https://doi.org/10.3390/app15095168
Kouhizadeh, M., Saberi, S., & Sarkis, J. (2021). Blockchain technology and the sustainable supply chain: Theoretically exploring adoption barriers. International Journal of Production Economics, 231, 107831. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2020.107831
Lambert, D. M. (2008). Supply Chain Management: Processes, Partnerships, Performance. Supply Chain Management Institute.
Mentzer, J. T., DeWitt, W., Keebler, J. S., Min, S., Nix, N. W., Smith, C. D., & Zacharia, Z. G. (2001). Defining supply chain management. Journal of Business Logistics, 22(2), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2158-1592.2001.tb00001.x
Mongeon, P., & Paul-Hus, A. (2016). The journal coverage of Web of Science and Scopus: A comparative analysis. Scientometrics, 106, 213–228. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-015-1765-5
Nakamoto, S. (2008). Bitcoin: A peer-to-peer electronic cash system. https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf
Pantano, E., Pizzi, G., Scarpi, D., & Dennis, C. (2020). Competing during a pandemic? Retailers’ ups and downs during the COVID-19 outbreak. Journal of Business Research, 116, 209–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.05.036
Paul, J., & Criado, A. R. (2020). The art of writing literature review: what do we know and what do we need to know?. International business review, 29(4), 101717. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2020.101717
Queiroz, M. M., Fosso Wamba, S., Trinchera, L., & Machado, M. C. (2022). Impacts of blockchain adoption on supply chain management: Empirical evidence from emerging markets. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 181, Article 121792. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121792
Rejeb, A., Rejeb, K., Simske, S., & Treiblmaier, H. (2021). Blockchain technology in logistics and supply chain management: A bibliometric review. Logistics, 5(4), 72. https://doi.org/10.3390/logistics5040072
Saberi, S., Kouhizadeh, M., Sarkis, J., & Shen, L. (2019). Blockchain technology and its relationships to sustainable supply chain management. International Journal of Production Research, 57(7), pp. 2117-2135. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2018.1533261
Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, pp. 333-339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039
Treiblmaier, H. (2018). The impact of the blockchain on the supply chain: A theory-based research framework and a call for action. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 23(6), pp. 545–559. https://doi.org/10.1108/SCM-01-2018-0029
Verhoef, P. C., Kannan, P. K., & Inman, J. J. (2015). From multi-channel retailing to omni-channel retailing. Journal of Retailing, 91(2), pp. 174-181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2015.02.005
Wang, Y., Han, J. H., & Beynon-Davies, P. (2019). Understanding blockchain technology for future supply chains: A systematic literature review and research agenda. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 24(1), pp. 62-84. https://doi.org/10.1108/SCM-03-2018-0148
Wamba, S. F., Queiroz, M. M., & Trinchera, L. (2023). Blockchain, analytics and supply chain resilience: Emerging research directions for digital ecosystems. International Journal of Information Management, 70, Article 102623. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2023.102623
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 Julio Cezar Rodrigues Eloi, Jefferson Modesto de Oliveira, Angelica Santos Franco, Rafael Bernardoni