What was the first product purchased in a secure online retail transaction, reported in 1994 by NetMarket?

The first product purchased in a secure online retail transaction was Sting’s Ten Summoner’s Tales CD.

The transaction took place in August 1994 through NetMarket, an online retail venture associated with entrepreneur Dan Kohn. The buyer used a credit card to purchase the compact disc, and the transaction is widely cited as the first retail purchase made over the public internet using encryption.

This milestone came before the major commercial expansion of Amazon, eBay, and other large marketplaces. It demonstrated that payment-card information could be protected during an online sale, helping establish confidence in internet commerce.

The event is sometimes confused with other “firsts,” including the first item sold on eBay, the first book sold by Amazon, and the first online pizza order. Those were important early-commerce milestones, but the NetMarket transaction is the one commonly associated with the first secure online retail purchase.