The Father Of Online Shopping Has Some Bold Predictions About The Future

In the mid-’90s, during the height of Silicon Valley’s first dot-com boom, German software engineer and entrepreneur Stephan Schambach invented the obscure concept of “online shopping carts” and built the first e-commerce software, called “Intershop Online.” Today, it is the backbone of all shopping websites. While online shopping was already changing the entire economy, the coronavirus pandemic, which forced nearly all physical retailers to close up shop for months, put the transition into hyperdrive. During the three-month nationwide quarantine, countless mom-and-pop stores were wiped out of existence; large retail chains were forced to downsize and permanently close stores; and several already struggling brands plummeted right into bankruptcy thanks to the last straw that was COVID-19. As a result, e-commerce has become a primary economic driver as retailers across spectrums count on it to keep business flowing during the ongoing pandemic—and probably for the foreseeable future. Read more at Observer.