Online shopping as we know it today required two things: the World Wide Web and trust.

The story of online shopping is a remarkable journey from a humble TV remote experiment to a multi-trillion-dollar global industry that defines modern life. It’s a tale of visionary inventors, bold startups, and a fundamental shift in how humans interact with the world of commerce. The Spark: A TV Remote and a Grandparent (1979–1984)

The journey didn't start with the internet, but with a modified domestic television. In 1979, British inventor pioneered the concept by connecting a TV to a real-time transaction processing computer via a telephone line.