Title isn't accurate, as others pointed out. Eg. Minitel in France predates 1994. Also, it depends on your definition of "online". Eg. I think you could buy th

Title isn't accurate, as others pointed out. Eg. Minitel in France predates 1994. Also, it depends on your definition of "online". Eg. I think you could buy things via Teletext before 1994. And buying things via phone probably also predates 1994 - both for buying products (tv sell stuff), but also services (eg. group chat, or adult lines).