Back before most Americans had personal computers in their homes, a technology company called Peapod started by brothers Andrew and Thomas Parkinson quietly became the world's first online grocery delivery service, about 30 years ahead of its time.

In 1981, Grocery Express launched as a telephone-operated grocery store, then later expanded to accept orders through internet prototypes like Prodigy. Melissa Ocepek, a professor of information studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, called Grocery Express “the first online grocer” in a paper she co-wrote.