Amazon’s Humble Beginnings: A Look Back at 30 Years of E-commerce Evolution

If one were to excavate the online archives today,much like a digital archaeologist,a fossil of the site that was Amazon.com would be found. It is challenging to recognize it.The background is of an indefinite gray. The logo is far from that famous orange arrow that connects the first and last letter of the alphabet. In its very first version, it recalled the homonymous river, the largest in the world, with a background reminiscent of water. A cheerful writing, but in a standard font and in black, welcomed visitors. “A million titles at consistently low prices,” read a line below. Indeed, at the beginning, the site founded by Jeff Bezos was supplied directly by the publishers.

Amazon was launched just thirty years ago, on July 16, 1995. At the time, only books were sold. Disks and videotapes arrived only three years later,while the e-commerce platform began its climb to planetary success. More importantly, it moved towards a business model that had less and less to do with books and more and more with “everything.”

To mark the difference between how the small online shop operated then and how the e-commerce giant functions today, consider this curious fact: every time a book was sold, a bell was rung in the office. This habit was lost in a few weeks when the bell began to play so frequently that it had to be removed forever. Already in the first month from the launch, Amazon had sold books in all American states and in 45 countries around the world.

Looking back at the site Amazon.com from thirty years ago-launched a year after the brand was founded on July 5,1994-one cannot help but feel a bit of nostalgia. We invite you to join us on a journey down memory lane to recall what has been.