When Did E-commerce Begin? 

E-commerce is the act of buying and selling goods or services online. This can be done via websites, apps, or social media, and involves the use of integrated payment gateways to securely complete transactions between buyers and sellers. 

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Almost anything can be purchased through e-commerce. From groceries to diamonds, and even plane tickets and financial services, everything you could imagine can be purchased from a computer or other smart device. 

There are a lot of different ways to approach e-commerce, and there are a variety of business models. For example, there are large e-malls such as Amazon, and there are also many smaller e-retailers. These businesses can sell a wide range of products and services, and they are often very competitive. 

When did e-commerce begin?

It began when computers started to become popular in the 1980s. This allowed people to start selling their products or services online, and a number of new businesses started popping up to take advantage of this. In fact, in the mid-1990s, two of the most successful e-commerce sites were established: Amazon and eBay. 

The Internet became a mainstream commercial medium in 1991 when Tim Berners-Lee developed the World Wide Web (WWW). This was a breakthrough because it made it possible to communicate with customers and make sales on a global scale without having to travel to a physical location. 

However, in order for this to happen, the Internet had to be secure. This was achieved by implementing a protocol called Secure Socket Layer, which keeps both the sending and receiving side of an online transaction secure through encryption. This led to the rise of a number of third-party credit card processing companies that were able to accept transactions over the internet. 

As a result of these advances, online shopping began to grow exponentially in the 1990s. During this time, the e-commerce industry went through several booms and busts. 

One of the most notable e-commerce booms occurred during the dot-com bubble in the late 1990s when internet connections were laid across the globe for thousands of miles. This caused a huge increase in e-commerce traffic and spawned a number of high-profile e-commerce companies such as Amazon and eBay. 

Another important e-commerce development was the growth of mobile commerce or M-commerce. This grew in popularity because it allowed consumers to shop for products and services on their smartphones or tablets, rather than having to leave home. 

It is estimated that about 62% of US consumers have purchased items from the Internet using their mobile phones or tablets. This has given consumers more power when it comes to deciding what to buy and how much to spend because they can research prices and read user reviews. 

Today, the e-commerce industry is growing at an extremely fast rate, and it is still a rapidly developing sector. As a result, it is vital for any company to understand how to make the most of this lucrative market.