Earlier this year, Amazon reported $143.3 billion in revenue for the first quarter of 2024. But 27 years ago, the BBC wondered when predictions that the internet revolutionizing shopping would come true, speaking to local bakers, booksellers, and even Jeff Bezos to find out.
- Home
- Technology
- News
In 1997, the BBC asked Jeff Bezos when internet shopping would take off
The internet hadn’t revolutionized shopping 27 years ago as some had predicted, but even though Amazon had yet to turn a profit, Jeff Bezos was still confident in its eventual success.


The Money Programme report, which originally aired in November of 1997, was recently added to the BBC Archive YouTube Channel. In it, reporter Nils Blythe takes a simulated journey on the information superhighway — complete with wonderfully dated ‘90s-era blue screen effects and graphics — and speaks to retailers who had varying levels of success with online commerce at the time.
Those included a small bakery in the UK that was enjoying several thousands of dollars in sales every year selling its baked goods internationally, and the British supermarket chain Sainsbury’s that was having middling success selling groceries using the internet, phones, and even faxes.
Blythe also spoke with Jeff Bezos who had launched Amazon.com as an online book retailer just two years prior. Bezos bragged that Amazon’s catalog of over 2.5 million books was ten times more than the largest brick-and-mortar book stores were able to stock, and predicted that “over some large number of years... internet book selling is going to become a very large business.” He was mostly correct, four years before Amazon turned a profit for the first time.

KP session convened for Oct 13 to elect new CM
- 14 hours ago

Our favorite batteries and chargers are on sale for October Prime Day
- 6 hours ago

DPM discusses ME situation with FMs of Egypt, Azerbaijan
- 15 hours ago
Palestinians return to devastated Gaza City as truce holds
- 15 hours ago
White House lays off thousands of US govt workers, blaming shutdown
- 14 hours ago

Three dead in light plane crash in Australia's New South Wales state
- 13 hours ago

Magnitude 5 earthquake rattles Punjab’s Layyah: PMD
- 14 hours ago

Will the Gaza ceasefire really stick?
- 4 hours ago

Three dead in light plane crash in Australia's New South Wales state
- 13 hours ago

The AirPods 4 are just $89, matching their best price to date during October Prime Day
- 6 hours ago

Giants turn tables on Eagles with complete home victory
- 5 hours ago

HMD’s Touch 4G is a dumb-smart-phone
- 6 hours ago