The History of Sears Predicts Nearly Everything Amazon Is Doing (2017)

Re:The History of Sears Predicts Nearly Everything Amazon Is... by sct202 on Tuesday October 16, 2018 @10:03AM (#18229435)

Prodigy (IBM-Sears JV) did have a storefront, but I don't think anyone actually used it. I think even with a good idea, most large companies aren't really the best place to launch new novel ideas--even when they're good ones.

EDIT: I found an article from 1990 that says that you could buy things on Prodigy from Sears and JC Penny. You could also order groceries (it sounds really clunky though). It's under "Grocery shopping heads for home at Dominick's Jouzaitis, Carol Chicago Tribune (1963-Current file); Sep 7, 1990; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune"

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The History of Sears Predicts Nearly Everything Amazon Is... by pgrote on Tuesday October 16, 2018 @11:03AM (#18229944)

We used the Prodigy grocery delivery service many times when it came out. It was clunky, but a great service. Within 6 months the delivery service stopped. It wasn't until 2017 our local grocery stores began offering delivery again. Amazing to think about that disconnect.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The History of Sears Predicts Nearly Everything Amazon Is... by ghaff on Tuesday October 16, 2018 @12:23PM (#18230641)

A huge amount of money was lost in online grocery delivery in the dot-com crash which probably scared off most new entrants for a long time. I've had Peapod available for over 10 years but I think that's still the only option I have 40 miles outside of a major metro in the US.

[ Parent | on HN ]