Amaya Toman At the beginning of December 2002, the online Apple Store welcomed its millionth unique customer, and the Apple company thus reached another very important milestone. And there was definitely something to celebrate - the online Apple Store registered its millionth unique customer already after five years of its official operation, and the event was not without appropriate response.
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"Reaching the millionth customer is a major milestone and proof positive that our online shopping experience is second to none," said Tim Cook, then Apple's vice president of worldwide sales and operations, in an official statement at the time, adding , that the Apple Store represents a popular way for an ever-increasing number of consumers and businesses to purchase Apple products. "With extensive build-to-order options, easy one-click purchasing and free shipping, it's never been easier to buy a Mac online," he said.
This is what the online Apple Store looked like in 2002 (source: Wayback Machine):
Gallery
Bad linguists claim that Apple somewhat underestimated the importance of the Internet in the 1990s. But it is not quite true. For example, he ran the online service Cyberdog - a suite of applications for mail, news reading and other tasks, and he also ran the service eWorld. But both mentioned services ended after Steve Jobs returned to Apple. And it was Jobs who set things in motion in this direction. One of the most significant steps was the release of the iMac G3 - a computer whose mission was to bring entire families of ordinary mortals online. A little later, the colorful portable iBook followed, which allowed users to be online with the help of an AirPort card. But Jobs also wanted to change the way Apple itself uses the Internet and how it acts on it. When Apple bought Jobs' NeXT, it used a technology called WebObjects to build an online store for Macs.
At that time, Apple witnessed the huge success achieved by Dell in the field of online sales. Its founder, Michael Dell, famously said that if he himself had managed Apple, he would have put the company on ice long ago and returned the money to the shareholders. This statement, along with other factors, may have encouraged Jobs to personally oversee the development of the online Apple Store. He went about his task with the diligence and perfectionism of his own, determined to overtake Dell.
The launch of the Apple Store definitely paid off for Apple. The opening of brick-and-mortar Apple Stores was still a few years away, and the company had long been dissatisfied with the way third-party sellers presented its products. Apple was on the rise again and wanted to have complete control over how its products were presented and sold, and its own online store represented an ideal opportunity in this direction.
When the Apple Store officially opened in November 1997, it made more than twelve million dollars in its first month.
Sources: Cult of Mac
