From trading cattle with your neighbor, to buying pizza online—it’s clear that commerce has changed tremendously over time.
But what was the catalyst for it all? How did something like ecommerce become this $1.915 trillion industry?
In celebration of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we decided to play detective to find the truth behind the history of ecommerce. We wanted to uncover the first product to ever be sold online.
Our findings were pretty surprising.
What is Ecommerce?
While it's true that pizza was one of the first things purchased on the internet—there were actually other transactions made online before the inception of the Internet (as we know it) even existed.
In the 1970s, Stanford students used Arpanet (an early packet switching network and the first network to implement the protocol suite TCP/IP) accounts to engage in a transaction with students at MIT. They used the network to quietly arrange the sale, and purchase, of the first product ever sold through telecommunications—marijuana.
The key ecommerce pioneer, however, wasn’t Pizza Hut or Stanford students—no, it was actually someone purchasing a Sting CD on the 11th of August 1994. It was the first ever ‘secure online purchase’, or ecommerce transaction, when it was sold by US ecommerce platform NetMarket.
Since that seminal transaction, commerce changed forever. Little did that Sting fan know, his transaction paved the way for ecommerce as we know it.
Black Friday Deal
In true Black Friday fashion, we're running a promotion on The Stockroom—Shopify's collection of products to help you start your business..
We're offering 25% off storewide, and giving away free tote bags with purchases of $60 or more.
The Stockroom sells thing like:
- Shipping supplies - Everything you need to ship your products at a discounted price.
- Office Supplies - Motivate yourself with our office supplies. Notebooks, posters, and decor that will keep your hustle strong.
- Photography Tools - Take beautiful product shots with our photography tools.
- Entrepreneurial Apparel - Clothes fit for an entrepreneur's lifestyle. We offer comfortable apparel that looks good enough to wear to meetings and bars.
We hope these products help you as you continue your entrepreneurial journey. We're rooting for you!
Read more
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- How Frostbeard Studio’s Creative Duo Avoided the “Burnout” of Shipping Orders Themselves
- Shopcodes are Shopify QR Codes That Make Mobile Shopping Easy
- Building a Commerce Platform for Everyone
- Introducing the New Merchant Overview Dashboard
- Choosing the Right Bank for Your Business- 8 Things You Should Know
- Introducing Shipping Labels on Mobile- Fulfill Orders Directly From Your Phone
History Of Ecommerce FAQ
Who is considered the father of ecommerce?
British inventor Michael Aldrich is widely credited with creating the first online shopping system in 1979, years before the internet-based sales most people associate with ecommerce history. Michael Aldrich, a British engineer, and inventor, first created what is now credited as the first online shopping system in 1979. He built this by connecting a consumer's TV to a retailer's computer via a telephone line, laying the technical groundwork later systems would build on.
What was the first ecommerce company?
Boston Computer Exchange is generally recognized as the first true ecommerce company, launching in 1982 as a marketplace for used computers. Boston Computer Exchange is widely credited as the company that first launched an eCommerce store, established in 1982 as a market for selling computers, typically used ones. Some historians point instead to CompuServe, founded in 1969 to move business data over phone lines before the modern internet existed.
How did ecommerce grow after the first secure online sale?
Ecommerce expanded quickly through the mid-1990s as security and infrastructure caught up with demand. In the mid-90s, there were major advancements in the commercial use of the Internet, and one of the first ecommerce sites was Amazon, which started in 1995 as an online bookstore. That same period brought eBay's 1995 debut and PayPal's 1998 launch, which gave shoppers a faster, more secure way to pay online.
How big is the global ecommerce industry today?
Global ecommerce transactions now total roughly $29.267 trillion a year, spanning both business and consumer sales. Global e-commerce transactions generate $29.267 trillion, including $25.516 trillion for B2B transactions and $3.851 trillion for B2C sales. That scale reflects decades of growth from a single 1994 CD sale into a core part of global retail infrastructure.
When did online shopping become mainstream?
Online shopping moved from a niche experiment to a mainstream habit during the late 1990s and 2000s, as more retailers and shoppers came online. In 2005, the National Retail Federation created the term "Cyber Monday," and by 2010 this day saw more than $1 billion worth of eCommerce sales in the US alone. Growth accelerated further through the 2010s as broadband access and mobile devices became widespread.
How did mobile commerce change the history of ecommerce?
Mobile commerce pushed ecommerce beyond desktop computers, starting with simple vending experiments before evolving into full mobile storefronts. Mobile commerce was first born in 1997, when two mobile device-enabled Coca-Cola vending machines were installed in Finland. Retailers later launched dedicated mobile sites and apps, letting shoppers browse, compare, and buy from a phone rather than waiting for a home computer.
