INTERACTIVE TIMELINE

THE EVOLUTION OF SHOPPING

From buying goods in markets to online shopping to the emergence of discovery commerce, shopping has long been part of our culture with evidence of retail activity going all the way back to ancient Greece. Back then, merchants would set up stalls in public squares – agoras – and sell their goods and services. They laid the foundations for a global retail market that is today worth $24 trillion


Fast forward to the 21st century and shopping has gone online, with global e-commerce sales expected to increase 20 per cent in 2020. In the UK, online retail sales increased 13 per cent between 2010 and 2020, and then jumped 13 per cent in just five months during the lockdown, underlining the dramatic pace of change in consumer spending habits. Technology has also helped transform and streamline the shopping experience so that with a few taps of a keyboard, consumers can discover and buy products in an instant, with brands harnessing tech to enable consumers to shop safely and at their own convenience.


Discover how the experience of shopping has changed over the millennia and how technology has enabled the change from people finding products to products being matched to people.

Timeline
Case studies
1472
PRINTED
ADS
William Caxton publishes the first print advertisements to promote prayer books, sticking them on doors.
14
72
1704
NEWSPAPER
ADS
The first newspaper advertisement is published in the Boston Newsletter, selling real estate in Oyster Bay.
17
04
1852
DEPARTMENT
STORE
Le Bon Marché, the world’s first department store, is opened by Aristide Boucicaut, who wants to give buyers more choice, offering a wide selection of goods and a place where people can browse undisturbed.
18
52
1922
RADIO
ADS
The first radio advert is broadcast on the New York radio station Western Electric AT&T Fone (WEAF). It is an ad for the Queensboro Corporation, promoting apartments for sale in Jackson Heights.
19
22
1924
BLACK
FRIDAY
Macy’s department store launches the famous Thanksgiving Day Parade, laying the foundations for Black Friday sales.
19
24
1941
TELEVISION
ADS
The Bulova Watch Company produces the first TV commercial. The ad consists of a still image with a voiceover and runs for 10 seconds. It is seen by roughly 4,000 people in New York.
19
41
1972
PRINTED
CATALOGUE
The Argos catalogue is launched. At its peak it is Europe’s most widely printed publication and in more UK homes than any other book apart from the Bible.
19
72
1982
E-COMMERCE
IS BORN
The first e-commerce platform, Boston Computer Exchange , opens for business. It is primarily an online marketplace for people to sell their used computers.
19
82
1989
HELLO
WORLD
Tim Berners-Lee invents the World Wide Web.
19
89
1994
BANNER
ADS
AT&T displays the first ever banner ad. It has a click- through rate of roughly 44 per cent. Banner ads quickly catch on.
19
94
1995
BIDDING
SITES
eBay, the first person-to-person auction site, is founded by Pierre Omidyar.
WebConnect is the first company to offer targeted advertising, helping its clients to identify the websites visited by their target demographic.
19
95
1997
MOBILE
PURCHASE
The first purchase is made using a mobile phone when Coca-Cola introduces vending machines in Helsinki that accept payment over SMS.
19
97
1999
GLOBAL
E-COMMERCE
Alibaba Online is founded by Jack Ma and 18 partners in Hangzhou, China. A year later it raises $25 million in funding.
19
99
2000
ONLINE
TRADING
Most major stores and smaller businesses are trading online.
20
00
2004
FACEBOOK’S
FOUNDED
Facebook, the world’s first social networking service, is founded by Mark Zuckerberg and his Harvard college roommates.
20
04
2005
ETSY’S
BORN
Online crafts marketplace Etsy begins trading, championing all things handmade and selling unique, bespoke products.
20
05
2007
DISCOVERY
COMMERCE
EMERGES
Amazon Prime launches, offering a next-day delivery membership programme.
The first iPhone is unveiled by Apple boss Steve Jobs – the company sells 1.9 million of the smartphone that year.
Yahoo’s Right Media releases the first real-time bidding (aka programmatic advertising) ad exchange, allowing personalised advertising across the internet.
Facebook introduces Ads and Pages for brands, allowing them to find the right people at the right time.
20
07
2009
ONLINE
SALES
Alibaba uses Singles’ Day to offer customers discounts of up to 50 per cent. In 2019, the company generates $38 billion in sales, making it the biggest ever Singles’ Day sales in history.
20
09
2010
GLOBAL
BLACK FRIDAY
Amazon introduces the UK to Black Friday by promoting the day with a range of discounts and deals to consumers.
Stripe is founded by Irish entrepreneur brothers John and Patrick Collison, allowing businesses of every size to accept online payments.
20
10
2014
DIGITAL
WALLETS
Apple introduces Apple Pay, transforming mobile payments with an easy and secure way to pay with the tap of a mobile.
Alibaba Group breaks all records to become the largest IPO in history.
20
14
2016
DIRECT-TO-
CONSUMER
Instagram launches Stories, which allows users to post photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours.
Unilever pays $1 billion for Dollar Shave Company, signalling the start of big companies investing in direct-to-consumer brands.
20
16
2019
RECORD
BREAKING
Black Friday breaks records by reaching $7.2 billion in digital revenue in the US and $20 billion in other countries.
20
19
2020
DIGITAL
DISRUPTION
Lindt gets its first e-commerce store up and running in just five days after the Covid-19 pandemic forces it to shut all its outlets.
Facebook launches Shops across its family of apps, allowing businesses to connect with shoppers and create social storefronts for their brands.
20
20