I think one of the most enjoyable topics to discuss is really the beginning of something so booming and how it stands today. Let’s talk about the E-Commerce industry, how it started, and let me share some facts to give you an idea of how this phenomenon we know as E-Commerce is disrupting the world today.
History:
In 1979, an English inventor named Michael Aldrich introduced something that would be known as e-commerce years later. He connected telephone lines with a television. The reason Aldrich created this concept, was because he got the idea when he was on a walk with his wife. He was thinking of the tedious trip to the market. Aldrich then thought it would be easier to order what you needed through your own TV. Shortly after, Aldrich created a system that publicized goods and services through someone’s television. This gave viewers the power to call a processing center to order things. Aldrich made it known as “Teleshopping”. This was the birth of e-commerce.
Three years later in 1982, the first e-commerce company would be born. This company was known as the Boston Computer Exchange. This business would give services to customers who wanted to sell their used computers. In 1983, two men by the names of Bob Kahn & Vint Cerf would launch something huge that is still used today. This was known as the internet. With the launch of the internet, more e-commerce businesses were created. These businesses seem more familiar to us than others. In 1992, an e-commerce business by the name of Book Stacks Unlimited was created. It was an online store where you could purchase books from the comfort of your home. Years later, Books Stacks Unlimited was bought by Barns & Nobles. They had to be bought in my opinion, because 2 years after their launch, they were outmoded by a business that would be the biggest company in the United States. On July 5, 1994, a man named Jeff Bezos created an e-commerce business by the name of Amazon. It started with books, and later, people could not only books but could buy almost anything there. People spent a lot of money and made a lot of money, especially Jeff Bezos, one of the richest people in the world. Another popular e-commerce business named E-Bay was founded in 1995. It couldn’t beat Amazon in numbers or popularity, but it still dominates a lot of the market today. As far as Amazon goes, in 1997, it was named the #1 company in the United States, since it already had 1,000,000 customer accounts. In March of 2018, Walmart would start having the ability to deliver groceries to people’s homes via their online portal, aka, e-commerce site. It was very successful.
Two years later, the e-commerce industry was put to the test, with COVID-19, and we came that not only did this industry thrive in the midst of a pandemic but it became our new normal to purchase goods and services from the comfort of your home, and at your fingertips.
Today, many e-commerce businesses from the ’90s are still here today. They are often used to purchase products from their app and/or website. I can appreciate what these entrepreneurs created. A true phenomenon, a true way to practical shopping from anywhere in the world.
Interesting Facts About E-Commerce:
- There are more than 24 million websites worldwide that are e-commerce
- Less than 10% of internet users in the U.S. haven’t made an online purchase
- 69% of e-commerce popularity and traffic comes from Google
- 70% of visits to e-commerce websites are made on mobile devices
- In 2018, the Earth’s population spent 18 billion on mobile shopping apps
- 64% of customers in China choose to only use mobile payments instead of other options
- Only 12% of people find stores on mobile devices better than other sources
- India and Indonesia are expected to be the two fastest-growing markets within the next two years for retail e-commerce
- It’s estimated that by the year 2040, 95% of all purchases will be made online
Crazy but true facts, don’t you think?
