On September 28, 1999, inventors Peri Hartman, Jeffrey P. Bezos, Shel Kaphan, and Joel Speigel were granted the patent for METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PLACING A PURCHASE ORDER VIA A COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK, U.S. Patent No. 5,960,411. This 1-click system is used when ordering items off the shopping platform Amazon.com.
Amazon did not start out as the online shopping giant it is today. It began in 1994 with Jeff Bezos, and an idea to sell books online to anyone anywhere. At the time of Amazon’s incorporation Bezos was met with a lot of uncertainty over his company with critics claiming big retailers such as Borders and Barnes and Noble would knock him out of the market.
Fortunately, for Bezos, he did not listen to his critics; instead, he stuck with his motto of “Get Big Fast” and that’s what he did. In just four years from incorporation Amazon went from $15.7 million in revenue to $610 million. The company launched an Associates program, where other websites could sell their merchandise on Amazon.com; Amazon filled the order and paid a commission. From there Amazon’s online shopping presence began; they sold electronics, video games, home improvement items, toys and more.
Amazon took the company public in 1997 and generated $54 million on the NASDAQ. With the growth of the company they were able to offer more goods for purchase online in addition to a more personalized website that implemented recommendations based on previous purchases, customer reviews of an item, and the patented 1-click ordering system.
The 1-click method was an innovative concept at the time. The user entered their payment information and the information was stored so there was no need for it to be entered every time an order was placed. This 1-click method has become the new standard for most online retailers today.
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