Ecommerce, also known as electronic commerce or Internet commerce refers to the buying and selling

of goods or services using the Internet, and the transfer of money and data to execute these
transactions.

CompuServe is the first major ecommerce company which was built utilizing a dial-up connection.

English inventor Michael Aldrich introduced electronic shopping in 1979, which operated by connecting
a modified TV to a transaction-processing computer via a telephone line.

Boston Computer Exchange launched in 1982, it was the world’s first ecommerce company the primary
function was to serve as an online market for people interested in selling their used computers

Netscape Navigator launches as a web browser during the 1990s

Jeff Bezos introduced Amazon in 1995 primarily as an ecommerce platform for books.

Pierre Omidyar introduced Auction Web, which would later become what we know today as eBay.

PayPal made its appearance on the ecommerce stage in late 1998 as a money transfer tool. By 2000, it
would merge with Elon Musk’s online banking company and begin its rise to fame and popularity.

2001 Alibaba launches major B2B, C2C, and B2C platforms.

Google AdWords was introduced in 2000 to advertise to people using the Google search tool.

Digital Buyers 2.14 billion.

U.S. ecommerce sales exceed $123M by 2022 (Statista)

Shoppers spend 36% of their budget online on average (Big Commerce).

Globally, ecommerce growth projections show that retail sales may exceed $4.058 trillion by as soon as
2020.

Ubiquity: Internet/Web technology available everywhere: work, home, etc., anytime.

Global reach: The technology reaches across national boundaries, around Earth.

Universal standards: Internet standards (to create ecommerce site or website have to main standard
such as HTML, CSS, JAVA SCRIPT ETC.

Richness: All the source of (video, audio, and text messages) are combined called richness.

Interactivity: The technology works through interaction with the user.

Information density: Large increases in information density—the total amount and quality of
information available to all market participants.

Personalization/Customization: Technology which permits modification of messages, goods.

Social technology: The technology promotes user content generation and social networking.

Portal: provides initial point of entry to the Web. Portals are gateways to the Web. Portals such as
Yahoo, Facebook, MSN, and AOL.
E-Tailer: E-Tailer sells physical products directly to consumers or to individual businesses. Ex: amazon,
ebay, flipkart, Walmart etc.

Content Provider: Content provider creates revenue by providing digital content, such as news, music,
photos, or video, over the Web. Examples: WSJ.com, Gettyimages.com, iTunes.com.

Transaction Broker: Transaction Broker saves users money and time by processing online sales
transactions and generating a fee each time a transaction occurs. Examples: ETrade.com, Expedia,
Booking.

Market Creator: Market creator provides a digital environment where buyers and sellers can meet,
search for products, display products, and establish prices for those products. Examples: eBay &
Priceline.

Service Provider: Service Provider offer services online. Examples: Google Apps, Photobucket.com,
Dropbox.

Community Provider: Community Provider provides an online meeting place where people with similar
interests can communicate and find useful information. Ex: Facebook, Instagram etc.