Home shopping channels
Home shopping channels are a unique form of direct response marketing that allows consumers to view product demonstrations on television and place orders directly via phone. This retail format includes dedicated channels like the Home Shopping Network (HSN) and QVC, as well as infomercials and shorter direct response commercials that prompt immediate consumer action. The rise of twenty-four-hour home shopping channels began in the 1980s, targeting viewers who might be sleep-deprived and seeking convenient shopping options. HSN, which started its journey in 1981 from a local cable channel, has since evolved into a global multichannel retailer, offering a diverse range of products from fashion to electronics. Initially focusing on moderately priced merchandise often unavailable in traditional stores, these channels have expanded their offerings to include upscale items from renowned retailers and designers. The growth of home shopping channels has transformed advertising and marketing in the U.S., providing small manufacturers a platform to reach a national audience and introducing a new model of consumerism characterized by privacy and instant gratification. The influence of this retail format has continued to resonate, paving the way for online shopping experiences in the digital age.
On this Page
Home shopping channels
Television channels dedicated to selling products or services
Television home shopping gained national prominence in the 1980’s, eventually growing into a multibillion dollar business. Dedicated twenty-four-hour shopping channels, mostly on cable or satellite systems, developed new markets and marketing techniques, changing the way some products were bought and sold, especially apparel, jewelry, and cosmetics.
Home shopping channels represent a form of retailing known as direct response marketing. In this retail format, potential customers watch television programs that demonstrate or market commodities, then respond to those programs by telephone, placing orders directly with the marketing company. The format includes dedicated channels, such as Home Shopping Network (HSN) and QVC; infomercials, program-length commericials featured on general television channels, usually late at night; and shorter direct response commercials that can last for as little as thirty seconds but encourage immediate action with such phrases as “operators are standing by to take your order.”
In 1981, HSN began marketing products on a local-access cable television channel. By 1985, it was broadcasting nationally. The channel, a subsidiary of IAC/InterActiveCorp that is headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida, first began airing direct response advertising at a small AM radio station in 1977. The concept developed by accident, when one of the station’s advertisers could not pay a bill. The owner of the station took 112 can openers as payment and then auctioned them off to listeners. The auction, billed as Suncoast Bargaineers, led to a regularly scheduled radio show, from there to local-access cable, and from there to a home shopping empire. HSN evolved into a global multichannel retailer, with product offerings of thousands of unique items in fashion, beauty, home, jewelry, and electronics. It also acquired competitors, particularly QVC (whose initials stand for quality, value, and convenience), based in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and the Shop at Home channel of Knoxville, Tennessee.
During the 1980’s, these channels primarily marketed moderately priced, mass-produced merchandise. Often, they marketed commodities that were not available in conventional retail stores, either because their manufacturers had chosen not to incur the expenses necessary to secure shelf space or because they could not produce enough items to stock national chains. Later, the channels would expand their offerings to include merchandise provided by upscale retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s, and Nordstrom and designers such as Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Todd Oldham, and Marc Jacobs.
Impact
The availability of cheap, targeted advertising time on cable television transformed the practice of advertising and marketing in the United States. One of its consequences was the rise of home shopping channels, which provided small manufacturers or specialty firms with the wherewithal to market their products to a national audience. It also introduced American consumers to a form of consumption that provided instant gratification in the privacy of one’s own home. In later years, the Internet would take advantage of this same model of privacy and convenience.
Bibliography
Berman, B., and J. R. Evans. Retail Management: A Strategic Approach. 9th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2004.
Dickerson, K. G. Inside the Fashion Business. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2003.