E-Commerce - A History

By streek
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    History of E-Commerce

  • Michael Aldrich invented online shopping

    From 1980 he designed, manufactured, sold, installed, maintained and supported many online shopping systems, using videotex technology.

  • Thomson Holidays, UK is first B2B online shopping.

  • Minitel was introduced and used for online ordering.

    The Minitel is a Videotex online service accessible through the telephone lines, and is considered one of the world's most successful pre-World Wide Web online services. It was launched in France in 1982 by the PTT (Poste, Téléphone et Télécommunications; divided since 1991 between France Télécom and La Poste).

  • Gateshead SIS/Tesco is first B2C online shopping.

    Mrs Snowball, 72, is the first online home shopper.

  • Nissan UK sells cars and finance with credit checking.

  • Swreg begins to provide software

    Software and shareware are provided to authors giving them the means to sell their products online through an electronic Merchant account.

  • Tim Berners-Lee writes the first web browser, WorldWideWeb

    He used a NeXT computer to do so.

  • Netscape releases the Navigator browser in October

    Under the code name Mozilla. Pizza Hut offers online ordering on its Web page. The first online bank opens. Attempts to offer flower delivery and magazine subscriptions online. Adult materials also become commercially available, as do cars and bikes. Netscape 1.0 is introduced in late 1994 SSL encryption that made transactions secure.

  • Jeff Bezos launches Amazon.com

    The first commercial-free 24 hour, internet-only radio stations, Radio HK and NetRadio start broadcasting. Dell and Cisco begin to aggressively use Internet for commercial transactions. eBay is founded by computer programmer Pierre Omidyar as AuctionWeb.

  • Electronic postal stamps can be purchased

  • Business.com sold for US $7.5 million to eCompanies

    Which was purchased in 1997 for US $149,000. The peer-to-peer filesharing software Napster launches. ATG Stores launches to sell decorative items for the home online.

  • The dot-com bust.

  • eBay acquires PayPal for $1.5 billion.

    Niche retail companies CSN Stores and NetShops are founded with the concept of selling products through several targeted domains, rather than a central portal.

  • Amazon.com posts first yearly profit.

  • Business.com acquired by R.H. Donnelley for $345 million

  • Zappos.com acquired by Amazon.com for $928 million.

    Retail Convergence, operator of private sale website RueLaLa.com, acquired by GSI Commerce for $180 million, plus up to $170 million in earn-out payments based on performance through 2012

  • Groupon reportedly rejects a $6 billion offer from Google.

    Instead, the group buying websites plans to go ahead with an IPO in mid-2011.

  • US eCommerce and Online Retail sales projected to reach $197 billion.

    An increase of 12 percent over 2010. Quidsi.com, parent company of Diapers.com, acquired by Amazon.com for $500 million in cash and plus $45 million in debt and other obligations.