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Witness History: The unlikely pioneers of online shopping

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The unlikely pioneers of online shopping

10/04/2020 GMT

BBC World Service - Witness History, The unlikely pioneers of online shopping

How a 72-year-old grandmother started online shopping before the internet

How a 72-year-old grandmother started online shopping in the 1980s, long before the arrival of the internet.

In 1984, a 72-year-old grandmother became the first to try a new online shopping system, years before the arrival of the internet. Mrs Jane Snowball had been given new Videotex technology which allowed her to order her groceries using a tv and a remote control. The system was part of a community project to help the elderly and vulnerable in the English town of Gateshead. The technology was the brainchild of Michael Aldrich, head of the communications firm, Rediffusion (later ROCC). Alex Last spoke to John Phelan, who designed the system's online shopping application.

Photo: Mrs Snowball shopping from home using her remote control and tv. (Gateshead Council)

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