History and Evolution of E-Commerce

The origin of commerce by exchanging goods occurred before recorded history, barter system, as you all know are one of the traditional ways where goods are traded in everyday life. Now, entering into the electronic era, the way individuals and organizations do business and undertake commercial transactions have been changed. This indicates the movement towards electronic commerce. This means there is no paper work and physical interaction is limited, if at all.

E-commerce has grown; it's estimated that 72 million users shopped online on "CyberMonday," on November 26, 2007.


Amazon and eBay are the main pioneers when it comes to selling online. The history of e-commerce owes a great debt to Amazon and eBay. These companies revolutionized the face of the Internet, as well as the way we buy things. Today, the history of ecommerce moves forward. There are a number of payment options and abilities, from PayPal to e-Checks to credit cards as well.

Amazon provided one of the first full-scale e-commerce business models.


Now, lets have a deeper insight on the evolution of e-commerce.

As far back as the 1960s, businesses were using primitive computer networks to conduct electronic transactions. Using something called Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), it helps to extend interbusiness transactions such as order forms, invoices from financial institution to other types of business and also provides transactions and information exchange from suppliers to end customers. This type of exchange became increasingly important as credit cards became a part of the commerce landscape.

Eventually, EDI was replaced by ASC X12 due to limitation to special networks where EDI are costly and complex to administer for small businesses. ASC X12 is a universal protocol developed by the American National Standards Institute in 1979, designed for sharing business documents and information electronically.

Prior to that, in the late 1960s, ARPAnet was being developed by the military for communications purposes. Back then, ARPAnet was the source of the “dial up” mode of accessing a computer system.

The greatest networking evolution came in 1982, when ARPAnet switched over to Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), the same packet-switched technology that powers the modern Internet. Instead of sending signals individually along one route, TCP/IP uses packets, sending information along different routes.

During the 1990s, the internet was open for commercial use; it was also the period that users started to participate in World Wide Web (WWW). Due to rapid expansion of the WWW network, e-commerce software; and the peer business competitions, large number of dot-coms and Internet start-ups appeared.

One of the first examples of e-commerce is Compuserve, providing tools such as e-mail, message boards, chat rooms and an added service call Electronic Mall, where users could purchase items directly from 110 online merchants.

Here is a chart of e-commerce growth from 1999-2006(in billions)


And here's a video about the evolution of e-commerce




(Sources:
www.wikipedia.org
www.howstuffworks.com
www.bestshoppingcartsreview.com
www.youtube.com)