The Rise and Continued Success of E-Commerce

Most people who have access to the internet have made at least one online purchase during their lifetime. Others have made shopping online their go-to avenue for finding their next good book, exciting movie, or even their newest kitchen appliance.

Since the inception of online shopping in the mid-1990s, people have come to love the ease of access that comes with shopping from their desktop computer, laptop, tablet, or phone. Today's top e-commerce websites utilize various tools to attract customers, including advanced customer analytics, product recommendation engines, and artificial intelligence.

People are undoubtedly hooked on online shopping, whether grabbing groceries, electronics, or everyday household items. But where did it originate, and how has it grown so quickly?

The Early Days of Online Shopping

Though platforms and mechanisms for online shopping have existed since the end of the 1970s, the first official online purchase occurred in August 1994, when a man sold a CD of Sting's Ten Summoner's Tales to his friend in Philadelphia. While this transaction wouldn't seem unusual today, it marked the true beginning of online sales and predated even Amazon and eBay's launches, which wouldn't occur until the year after 1995.

Of course, the emerging technology of the late 1990s is one of the main propellers of online shopping. PayPal's founding in 1998, at the height of the Dot-Com Boom, made it clear that the internet would change how people lived and shopped.

However, with the 25th anniversary of the dot-com bubble's burst looming in mid-March, some are now wondering if artificial intelligence will be the next big transformation in retail. 

Artificial Intelligence in Shopping Today

It is indisputable that artificial intelligence is changing the way people shop online. With personalized shopping experiences driven by user behavior, preferences, past purchases, chatbots, and virtual assistants providing 24/7 customer service, AI is quickly becoming a tool that people utilize even when unaware.

User preferences and chatbots aren't the only things reshaping how people shop online. Most have become accustomed to digital try-on services, and many know that artificial intelligence forecasts inventory management and demand.

There is now even technology capable of using machine-learning algorithms to help people shop in Pinterest-style fashions. Others utilize visual search and image recognition to find similar products via visual analysis. Voice shopping via smart assistants such as Google and Siri enables hands-free shopping. AI is becoming increasingly adept at summarizing product descriptions and reviews for quick viewing, creating an even more accessible age of the internet.

Of course, all of this isn't complete without the automated pricing and discounts mega-retailers can offer, as well as fraud detection and security features that come with shopping on them, which AI also powers.

What Is the Future of Shopping Online?

What was once a trying and often long-winded task in the 1990s has become as simple as clicking a "check out" button. With technology rapidly evolving and its mechanisms shifting at astounding rates, many are questioning what will come next and the future of online shopping.

With current technology capable of generating personalized experiences through online searches and others making the checkout and return process simpler than ever, some have speculated that augmented and virtual reality will allow people to pursue showrooms from their homes, and voice shopping will evolve alongside omnichannel strategies, in which businesses can offer seamless shopping experiences both online and offline.

The future of digital shopping is rapidly approaching, and with newfound technology on the rise, it will only continue to evolve in the coming years.