The Start of E-Commerce: A Historical Overview

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The Start of E-Commerce: A Historical Overview
E-commerce grew out of decades of experiments with selling at a distance. Here are the milestones that built it.

E-commerce grew out of decades of experiments with selling at a distance. Here are the milestones that built it.

In 1969, CompuServe was founded in the United States and later became one of the first major commercial online services. In 1979, English inventor Michael Aldrich demonstrated a system that let people shop from home using a modified television, an early version of online shopping. In 1982, the Boston Computer Exchange opened as one of the first online marketplaces, where people bought and sold used computers.

The modern era began in the mid-1990s. Amazon launched in 1995 as an online bookstore under founder Jeff Bezos. The same year, Pierre Omidyar founded eBay, which began as a site for online auctions between individuals. Secure payment technology developed around the same time, and shoppers gradually became willing to pay online.

Growth was fast. eMarketer estimated that worldwide retail e-commerce sales reached $2.29 trillion in 2017, about one-tenth of all retail sales that year. Marketplaces kept expanding, smartphones moved shopping onto mobile apps, and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 pushed millions of first-time buyers online.

Today e-commerce is a normal part of retail rather than a novelty. The pattern behind its history is consistent: each wave of technology, from home terminals to phones, made buying easier, and buyers followed. Sellers who understand that pattern focus on removing friction: clear product pages, simple checkout, honest delivery times, and easy returns.

If this history has you thinking about selling, start with our historical perspective on the rise of online retail for the fuller story, then read our e-commerce mastery guide and the step-by-step shop launch guide.

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