History of Online shopping

Are you interested in the history of online shopping and it’s evolution through out the years? Are you curious as to the origins of the niche we now call e commerce and a breakdown of the numbers behind its existence? This is the information you’ve been looking for. What are the early events in the history of online shopping?

IBM developed an in-house transaction processing system for American Airlines enabling the company’s network of travel agents to access information at the same time.

An entrepreneur based in the United Kingdom, Michael Aldrich, developed videotex. This was a technology that enabled business transactions to be processed in real time via a modified domestic television. The system had functions similar to what modern e commerce and social media sites have today in rudimentary form.

Aldrich would then launch an office based system for Redifon and a host of other business’ . This technology enabled them to send communication externally between customers and agents and internally between suppliers, service providers and distributors.

Tim Berners-lee developed and launched the world’s first Internet server and browser.

Netscape developed an end to end (SSL) encryption key for online data transactions making the Internet significantly safer.

Sting, front man of the band ‘The Police’, released his fourth studio album online. This was the first securely packaged item sold on the Internet.

Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world, would quit his wall street job to launch an online bookstore called Amazon. Similarly eBay and a host of other pioneer online shopping platforms were being developed and launched.

Elon Musk, Peter Tiel, Reid Hoffman and a host of other outliers developed Paypal the world’s first legitimate online transaction bank account.

Amazon and other online retailers and wholesalers began launching mobile versions of their websites.

Jack Ma would launch alibaba and taobao.

Bitcoin and a bunch of other cryptocurrencies would emerge as an alternative payment system for e commerce sites.

Bitcoin and a bunch of other cryptocurrencies would emerge as an alternative payment system for e commerce sites.

Texas and Idaho take the lead when it comes to cyber Monday while California and New York have the largest sales volumes on black Friday. In 2023 cyber Monday accounted for over $8 billion in sales whereas Black Friday saw at least double that amount.

The biggest Internet event in North Dakota is Thanksgiving where over 80% of the state residents purchased more that one item online.

$116 is the average purchase price of an online sale in Maryland and Washington. These two neighboring states make up slightly over 5% of all online shopping transactions in the country.

63% of shoppers in Colorado and Illinois have stated that they must view a variety of online reviews before they make a purchase. 40% of these respondents also admitted to posting their online purchases on their social media pages.

87% of residents in Montana and Pennsylvania believe that pricing is the number one determinant of whether they would complete an online sale. This factor was closely followed by the shipping cost and speed of delivery.

In 2013 mobile sales accounted for $1.3 trillion of all the sales in the United States with Florida and Wyoming seeing over 15% of the total sale. This figure is estimated to quadruple to over $6 trillion by 2023.

78% of online shoppers in Hawaii and Idaho admitted to having first being introduced to a product via social networking giant Facebook.

63% of the residents of Alaska confessed that they placed a platforms return policy at the top of their list before making a purchase on any e commerce platform.

40% of online shoppers in Vermont and Minnesota stated that they made several purchases a month whereas 20% of shoppers had more than a few purchases on a weekly basis.

8 in ten of the online shoppers in Oregon and Kentucky had returned at least one item back to the seller while 40% of these respondents admitted that they would shop online again despite of their previous returns.

1. Will I receive free shipping for all of my orders of just one?

Only the item that has been tagged with the free shipping element is valid for that offer. All other items lacking the free shipping tag will have their rates tallied separately.

2. When will my order arrive?

All orders are shipped within 5 to 7 business days excluding holidays.

3. How do I place my order?

Add your preferred item to the shopping cart and checkout once you are satisfied with your order.

4. Is it possible to remove an item from my shopping cart?

Yes. There is a delete icon placed under the image of your preferred item.

5. Is it safe to shop online?

Yes. But only from verified vendors.

6. Will my information be stolen if I shop online?

You should always take precaution and shop on verified platforms with buyer protection policies.

7. My order was delivered broken, can I return it?

Yes. Contact our customer care with your order number.

8. Can anybody help me find out if my order is late?

Yes. Select the tracking icon on your order list.

9. How do I know if the product fits?

Select our size guide and use it to determine your fit.

10. Are any of these brands authentic?

Yes. Every vendor has been reviewed and quality is ascertained.

11. Is there any way to get a discount when shopping online?

Yes. Select items bearing a discount tag.

12. Who can I talk to about my delayed order?

Please contact our customer care agent.

13. My shipping address has changed, what can I do?

Review your profile page and make necessary adjustments.

14. Do I have to pay immediately after checkout?

You only pay upfront for selected vendors.

15. I want to track my order, is this possible?

Yes. Select the tracking icon next to the image of your order.

Here are a few predictions of what industry experts believe will happen to online shopping.

Drones will completely replace drivers and bikers in making deliveries, Domino’s and Amazon have already began to roll out their drone technology.

Cryptocurrency will become the default medium of exchange on the Internet. It will not replace fiat money but will rather supplement it by providing a safer shopping experience.

Social networks will play an even bigger role in e commerce with video content being the biggest source of growth for marketers.

Governments all over the world will have to find a way to harmonize their taxation treaties in order to facilitate the increasing demand for cross border online shopping.

Online stores and brick and mortar stores are slowly merging to form experience stores where consumers can get even more information regarding the products on offer

Online shopping isn’t a fad anymore. It is a raging force that must be taken seriously if any business wants to remain relevant in the years to come.

The Bottom Line

Hopefully this information will serve you well.

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