catalog shopping had been popular for decades prior to the 1980s. it's online shopping that some didn't predict or believe would 'take off', including sears--the king of catalog sales prior to the rise of the internet.
The technology wasn't the hurdle though. People knew it was perfectly feasible. In fact online shopping pre-dates the web and mainstream adoption of the internet by more than a decade. It was customers feeling safe enough entering bank details online and the whole thing being sufficiently secure. Which isn't an irrational thing to worry about.
did 1983 predict the rise of "catalog shopping"? because I sure didn't :)
catalog shopping had been popular for decades prior to the 1980s. it's online shopping that some didn't predict or believe would 'take off', including sears--the king of catalog sales prior to the rise of the internet.
The technology wasn't the hurdle though. People knew it was perfectly feasible. In fact online shopping pre-dates the web and mainstream adoption of the internet by more than a decade. It was customers feeling safe enough entering bank details online and the whole thing being sufficiently secure. Which isn't an irrational thing to worry about.
Plus credit cards were not as ubiquitous as they are now back in '83. Credit and debit cards facilitated online shopping greatly.