E-commerce is not a new thing. In fact, it really began with the first Internet connection, or even before. Strictly speaking, it got its birth in the 1960s, during which the foundation was laid for the e-commerce of today.
One of the first important advancements was the development of the EDI, or Electronic Data Interchange, a set of standards that governs the exchange of business information and electronic transactions.
Even so, doing business electronically was difficult at that time, due to the large number of competing EDI formats. Not until 1984 did the ASC X12, a standard for handling large numbers of transactions, come along, and it was quickly adopted by businesses for conducting electronic transactions.
The next major development was in 1992 with the release of Mosaic, the first point-and-click web browser. This led to Netscape, the first downloadable browser, which was based on Mosaic. It went a long way towards making Internet access universal, an important step in the development of electronic commerce.
High-speed DSL access made e-commerce smoother and more convenient, and the holiday season of 1998 saw a record number of e-commerce sales. During the 10-week Christmas season, sales of various products by AOL topped 1 billion.
The “bad boy” of music sharing, Napster, came along in 1999, and even though it originated as a way for people to share music for free, it turned out to be an important development for e-commerce by giving consumers a greater say in the entire online industry.
In 2000, the merger between AOL and Time Warner, although ill-fated, was the first major partnership between an old-style media company and one that was completely online. By that time, eBay, Yahoo and Amazon all became well-recognized and well-established names and synonymous with the concept of e-commerce.
Hackers attacked the sites in that same year, exposing the need for greater Internet security, especially in the e-commerce arena. This increased pressure led to more secure browser interfaces for more secure ordering.
Traditional businesses have jumped into the e-commerce waters, and today practically every major retail player, such as Sears, Wal-Mart, and even Walgreens, has an online presence. In 2001, $700 billion changed hands solely due to business-to-business transactions.
One of the most important e-commerce developments, however, came in 2001 with Apple’s release of its iTunes music player and in 2003 with the iTunes Store; Apple is now the top music vendor in the United States; in February 2010, the store served its 10 billionth song download, a milestone it reached in just under seven years.
The popularity of the iPod ensured a broad acceptance and high market penetration of iTunes, and it made the public comfortable with the idea of ordering music and other forms of media online. Because of this, Apple became as much a media company as a computer and electronics company.
With more and more people enjoying the convenience of shopping from home, it’s clear that e-commerce, as it becomes ever more popular, will only continue to grow and evolve.
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