.shop

History

The idea of a .shop generic top-level domain was around since at least 1999, when an attempt to register it with IAHC was made. Its proposed usage is similar to current endeavors: to provide a dedicated space for ecommerce on the Internet. In 2000, Commercial Connect, LLC requested to operate a .shop registry from ICANN.

Commercial Connect's application from 2000 was well-received, but other domains were prioritized. Japan's GMO Registry also expressed interest in the top level domain name space in late 2009, though Commercial Connect was the most vested candidate that had taken prior steps towards attaining delegation. In 2011, Commercial Connect was reported to have the support of ecommerce companies, with its completed application awaiting final approval as of June 2010. To further this support, Richard E. Last of the National Retail Federation and shop.org joined the board in late 2011.

When the next application process was opened in early 2012, Commercial Connect founder Jeffrey Smith described his .shop as a "hybrid between general public and specific use" designed to make a "more secure, stable, and intuitive" Internet. He sees the domain as a way to easily indicate sites that use online sales, with the application supported by a community defined by entities that use credit card transactions to sell products.

In May 2012, nine applicants including Google, Amazon and Famous Four Media applied to ICANN to operate the .shop registry. Commercial Connect was the only applicant who also applied for the .shop string in ICANN's year 2000 new-TLD round. Applications were also received for the extensions .shopping, .store, .buy, and names with similar meanings in non-Latin languages, and ICANN indicated that they would not create extensions that will confuse users. This so-called "string similarity" is an unresolved issue in the new gTLD process, and is to complement dispute resolution.

In January 2016, GMO Registry of Japan prevailed with a winning bid of US$41.5 million.

References

References

1. [https://ntldstats.com/tld/tokyo nTLD stats. greenSec GmbH.]
2. "(historical) gTLD MoU".
3. "TLD Application for .mall, .shop, and .svc". Archive.icann.org.
4. Yankeelov, Dawn. (2011-03-10). "New gTLDs expected by year end, including .shop". TechRepublic.
5. Yankeelov, Dawn. (2012-01-23). "What will a new gTLD do for retail IT?". TechRepublic.
6. FairWinds Partners. (2011-12-12). "Stacking the .SHOP Deck | gTLD Strategy | A FairWinds blog". gTLD Strategy.
7. (2011-03-11). "Tech entrepreneur hopes to own rights to '.shop' Internet domain - Louisville - Business First". Bizjournals.com.
8. "After Nearly a Decade of Waiting, ICANN Looks to Award .shop Top Level Domain- Commercial Connect LLC Anticipates Delegation in June". Prweb.com.
9. "Technology Newsmakers - A Shop.org and J.C. Penney vet joins the .Shop domain team". Internet Retailer.
10. "Shop.org Chairman Emeritus Champions ".shop" | News | Apparel Magazine(AM)". Apparel.edgl.com.
11. "Interview: .SHOP, the new e-commerce extension". Keepalert.com.
12. ".shop". ICANNWiki.
13. Berkens, Michael. (2013-01-30). "Shop Applicant Tells ICANN On String Similarity There are Only 56 Unique Generic Strings". TheDomains.com.
14. "gTLD Applicant Guidebook Version 2012-06-04". ICANN.
15. Tiffany. (2013-02-12). "String Similarity and the New gTLDs – Does ICANN Have Too Many Similar Extensions in the Running? | Name.com Blog: domain names, the internet, and other beer fueled shenanigans". Name.com.