Timeline of e-commerce
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E-commerce |
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Online goods and services |
Retail services |
Marketplace services |
Mobile commerce |
Customer service |
E-procurement |
Purchase-to-pay |
Super-apps |
This page is a timeline of e-commerce. Major launches, milestones and other major events are included.
Overview[]
Decade | Description |
---|---|
1970s–1980s | Very basic systems of electronic commerce emerge, using new technologies electronic funds transfer (EFT) and electronic data interchange (EDI), used by a relatively small number of people.[1][2] |
1980s–1990s | During this time period, ATM Machines and Credit cards laid down the foundation for the growing world of e-commerce. The Boston Computer Exchange and Minitel become among some of the first most notable e-commerce platforms in the world.[1][3][4] |
1990s–2000s | The advent of the World Wide Web opened the door for many new e-commerce services to have a global scope. Services like Amazon.com and eBay were some of the most notable e-commerce websites to be released in this time period.[1] |
2000s–2010s | Hundreds of e-commerce services such as online food ordering, media streaming, online advertising, online marketplace, brick and mortar retailers, e-commerce payment systems and online storefronts emerge. |
Timeline[]
Year | Event Type | E-commerce Type | Description |
---|---|---|---|
1969 | Major launch | N/A | CompuServe, the first major American e-commerce company, is founded.[5] |
1979 | Invention, Milestone | N/A | Electronic shopping is invented by Michael Aldrich.[6] |
1982 | Major launch, Milestone | Online marketplace | The Boston Computer Exchange, a prominent bulletin board system-based (BBS) marketplace for selling used computers, launches.[7] This is one of the first, if not the first, ever platforms for e-commerce.[8] |
1982 | Invention,
Major launch |
Online marketplace | Minitel, a pre-Internet Videotex online service, launches. This service could only be used in France.[3] |
1984 | Major launch | Online marketplace | by CompuServe, a popular online marketplace, launches. It offered pictures of products in full color.[9] |
1986 | Milestone | N/A | The United States (US) National Science Foundation (NSF) limits use of the National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET) for academic purposes only.[10] |
1990 | Major launch, Milestone, Invention | N/A | The first ever web browser called WorldWideWeb is released by Tim Berners-Lee.[11] Millions who have access to the internet can now browse e-commerce platforms with greater ease. |
1992 | Major launch | Online marketplace | Book Stacks Unlimited, an online marketplace for selling books, launches. Initially, it launched on BBS, then moved to the internet in 1994, in the form of www.books.com.[12] |
1994 | Major launch | N/A | Netscape launches Netscape Navigator, a very prominent web browser.[13] |
1994 | Major launch, Milestone | N/A | Ipswitch IMail Server became the first software to be sold online and then be available for immediate download.[citation needed] |
1995 | Milestone | N/A | The NSF lifts its ban of internet commerce on NSFNET.[14] |
1995 | Major launch | Online marketplace | Amazon.com, an extremely prominent online marketplace, is launched by Jeff Bezos.[15] |
1995 | Major launch | Online marketplace | eBay.com, also an extremely prominent online marketplace, launches. Initially, eBay.com was called AuctionWeb.[16] |
1996 | Major launch | Online marketplace | IndiaMART, a prominent Indian online marketplace, launches.[17] |
1996 | Major launch | Online marketplace | ECPlaza, a prominent Korean online marketplace, launches.[18] |
1995 | Major launch | Online advertising | DoubleClick, a prominent and influential advertising launches. This one of the first services to serve ads on the internet.[19] |
1997 | Major launch | Media streaming service | Netflix, an extremely popular subscription video on demand service, launches. Netflix also offers a DVD delivery service. Netflix only began offering online video streaming in 2007.[20][21] |
1998 | Acquisition | N/A | CompuServe is acquired by AOL.[5] |
1998 | Major launch | E-commerce payment system | PayPal, a very prominent online payment system, launches.[22] |
1999 | Major launch | Online marketplace | Zappos, a popular online marketplace for shoes and other apparel, launches.[23] |
1999 | Invention | N/A | Amazon patents its 1-Click service, which allows users to make faster purchases.[24] |
1999 | Major launch | Online marketplace | Tradera, an online marketplace similar to eBay.com in function, launches.[25] |
1999 | Major launch | Online marketplace | Alibaba.com, a very prominent Chinese online marketplace, launches.[26] |
2000 | Major launch | Online marketplace | StubHub, a very popular online marketplace for event tickets, launches.[27] |
2000 | Major launch | Online advertising | Google launches AdWords, an advertising service that allows users to show an advertisement in Google search results that is related to the viewer's search.[28] |
2000 | Major launch | Brick and mortar retailer | Walmart launches its website, allowing customers to shop online.[29] |
2001 | Major launch | E-commerce payment system | Skrill (formerly known as Moneybookers.com), a prominent online payment platform, launches.[30] |
2001 | Major launch | Brick and mortar retailer | Costco launches its own business-to-business online shopping system.[31] |
2001 | Major launch | Online marketplace | Newegg, a very prominent online marketplace for technology, launches.[32] |
2002 | Acquisition | N/A | eBay.com acquires PayPal for $1.5 billion in stocks.[33][34] |
2002 | Major launch | Online marketplace | , a prominent business-to-business (B2B) online marketplace, launches.[35] |
2002 | Major launch | Brick and mortar retailer | Safeway Inc. launches an online delivery service, allowing customers to shop online.[36] |
2003 | Major launch | Online advertising | Google launches AdSense, allowing users to promote their goods on the web based on the product's relevance to the viewer of the advertisement.[37][38] |
2003 | Major launch | Online marketplace | Valve launches Steam, the most popular Digital rights management (DRM) and gaming platform in the world.[39] |
2005 | Invention | N/A | Amazon launches its Amazon Prime service, which allows users to expedite shipping on any purchases for a flat annual fee.[40] |
2006 | Major launch | Online storefront service | Shopify, a prominent storefront service, launches.[41]` |
2006 | Acquisition | N/A | Tradera is acquired by eBay.com for approximately $50 million.[42] |
2007 | Acquisition | N/A | StubHub is acquired by eBay.com.[43] |
2007 | Major launch | Media streaming service | Hulu, a popular subscription video on demand service, launches. Hulu is composed of various media organizations.[44] |
2007 | Major launch | Online advertising | Facebook launches its Facebook Beacon service to display more relevant information to users by collecting data on their web browsing outside of Facebook.[45] With this, Facebook can also promote products based on whatever is relevant. |
2007 | Major launch | Online marketplace | Flipkart, a popular Indian online marketplace, launches.[46] |
2007 | Major launch | Online food ordering service | AmazonFresh, a very prominent online food ordering service, launches in Seattle.[47] It has since spread to dozens of cities across the US.[48] |
2008 | Major launch | Online storefront service | Magento. a popular online storefront service, launches.[49] |
2008 | Acquisition | N/A | Google acquires DoubleClick for $3.1 billion in cash.[19][50] |
2008 | Acquisition | N/A | PayPal Credit (formerly known as Bill Me Later), is acquired by eBay.com.[51] |
2008 | Major launch | Online marketplace | GOG.com, a prominent online gaming marketplace that offers DRM-free games, launches.[52] |
2009 | Major launch | Online storefront service | BigCommerce, another popular online storefront service, launches.[53] |
2009 | Acquisition | N/A | Amazon acquires Zappos.com for $1.2 billion.[54] |
2009 | Major launch, Milestone | E-commerce payment system | Bitcoin, a very prominent cryptocurrency launches, and changes how consumers can pay for online purchases or even in restaurants.[55][56] |
2010 | Major launch | Online marketplace | Groupon, a prominent online marketplace, launches.[57] |
2010 | Major launch | Media streaming service | HBO Go, a popular subscription video on demand service that offers streaming of exclusively HBO content, launches.[58] |
2011 | Acquisition | N/A | Magento is acquired by eBay.com.[59] |
2011 | Major launch | E-commerce payment system | Google Wallet, a prominent online payment system similar to PayPal, launches.[60] |
2011 | Defunction | Online advertising | Facebook Beacon is shut down due to privacy concerns.[45][61] |
2012 | Major launch | Online food ordering service | Instacart, a popular and growing online food ordering and delivery, launches.[citation needed] |
2013 | Major launch | Online advertising | Facebook begins letting users sponsor posts, which helps give their posts or products more publicity among their friends, followers, and those to whom the post is relevant.[62][63] |
2013 | Major launch | Online food ordering service | Google Express (formerly known as Google Shopping Express), a service similar to AmazonFresh and Instacart launches in several cities across the US, starting with San Francisco.[64] |
2013 | Milestone | N/A | China becomes the largest e-commerce market in the world.[65] |
2014 | Major launch, Milestone | E-commerce payment system | Apple Pay, a prominent payment system in the form of a mobile app that mimics a credit or debit card, launches.[66] |
2014 | Major launch | Online marketplace | Jet.com, an online marketplace, launches.[67] |
2015 | Major launch | E-commerce payment system | Google launches Android Pay, a prominent payment system similar to Apple Pay.[68] |
2014 | Milestone | N/A | Singles' Day sales on Alibaba sites reach US$9.3 billion.[69] |
2015 | Milestone | N/A | Cyber Monday sales set a new record of $3 billion.[70] |
2015 | Major launch | Online marketplace | Pinterest enters the e-commerce scene by adding Buyable Pins, a feature that allows users to sell their pins to other users.[71][72][73] |
2015 | Milestone | N/A | Singles' Day sales on Alibaba sites reach US$14.3 billion.[74] |
2016 | Acquisition | N/A | Walmart announces it will be acquiring Jet.com for $3 billion.[75] |
2016 | Acquisition | N/A | Alibaba announces it will be acquiring a controlling stake in Lazada Group for around US$1 billion.[76] |
2016 | Milestone | N/A | Singles' Day sales on Alibaba sites reach US$17.7 billion.[77] |
2018 | Acquisition | N/A | Flipkart is acquired by Walmart.[78] |
See also[]
References[]
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