It seems only right to commemorate such a historic day for the internet.
Would you care to take a wild guess as to what was the first item purchased with a credit card online? I’ll give you a hint – the item has since become obsolete.
Way, way, way back on August 11th, 1994, a man from Philadelphia purchased the Sting album, Ten Summoner’s Tales, on CD from NetMarket.com.
CDs, Sting, NetMarket.com? Is anyone else getting nostalgic?
The truth is, what is now a seemingly innocuous event, was a major yardstick moment for the internet, and the entire world. It was the first use of a credit card online. The purchase was privacy protected, and the data was encrypted. Amazon.com was about 1 month old when the transaction occurred, but wouldn’t be a functioning entity until 1995, so the activity of buying online really was a first.
Flash forward 21 years, and things are quite different. Retail is no longer a simple brick and mortar, do you inventory on the weekends kind of industry. The dawn of online retail has ushered in a new age where people can buy goods from absolutely anywhere. Now, retailers need to have their eCommerce, shipping operations, distribution centers, and physical stores all working together in lockstep. Don’t believe me? Ask Amazon.com, the world’s biggest retailer. They’ve made about $100,000 since you started reading this.
In other words, Amazon is selling a lot of Sting albums.