How Did E-Commerce Start to Take Off?
E-commerce is the process of purchasing goods and services electronically. The Internet has been a critical component of this phenomenon since its early days, and e-commerce has grown to be a huge part of our modern lives. In fact, e-commerce is responsible for more than $5 trillion in sales annually.
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How did e-commerce start to take off?
E-commerce was a relatively new concept in the early 1990s, but it quickly took off as people began to use the Internet more and more. It was a time of great change for businesses, and it also led to a number of new technological innovations that changed our world as we know it.
In the late 1970s, Michael Aldrich created an e-commerce system that allowed consumers to purchase products online using a computer and a telephone line. This was a major milestone in the development of e-commerce, and it started the journey toward modern-day e-commerce stores as we know them today.
The earliest e-commerce systems used the Excalibur BBS with replicated “storefronts.” These BBSs were often used to provide customer support for a business, which was a major step forward in e-commerce as it allowed companies to reach customers in different locations around the world.
During the dot-com bubble, many businesses were able to grow rapidly online. However, some of the big names in e-commerce survived the crisis and continued to grow in the aftermath. This helped them establish themselves as the go-to place for e-commerce.
Direct-to-consumer e-commerce is the newest form of e-commerce, and it involves selling directly to consumers without going through a traditional retailer, distributor, or wholesaler. This is a very important trend to watch because it has the potential to revolutionize how brands interact with their customers.
Another very exciting e-commerce trend is the rise of mobile commerce. Mobile commerce allows customers to shop anytime, anywhere with their smartphones. The technology is not only convenient, but it also enables a heightened customer experience.
This is particularly true in the United States where over two-thirds of people own a smartphone (The Statistics Portal). In addition, mobile devices are becoming more and more common in other countries, which means that even more consumers will be shopping on their smartphones in the coming years.
Social media has played a major role in the rise of e-commerce. Facebook’s sponsored stories were one of the first forms of advertising, and it gave retailers the opportunity to target their ads to specific audiences based on the content of their posts.
Digital and mobile wallets are also very popular e-commerce payment options. These allow customers to make payments via their smartphones, and they’re also one of the fastest-growing e-commerce channels.
While e-commerce has come a long way in the past few decades, it still has some ways to go before it reaches its full potential. Ultimately, it will depend on how many people use it, and how much they value the convenience it brings to their lives.