Home shopping

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Home shopping is the electronic retailing and home shopping channels industry, which includes such billion dollar television-based and e-commerce companies as Shop LC, HSN, Gemporia, TJC, QVC, eBay, ShopHQ, Buy.com and Amazon.com, as well as traditional mail order and brick and mortar retailers as Hammacher Schlemmer and Sears, Roebuck and Co. Home shopping allows consumers to shop for goods from the privacy of their own home, as opposed to traditional shopping, which requires one to visit brick and mortar stores and shopping malls.

Contents

There are three main types of home shopping: mail or telephone ordering from catalogs; telephone ordering in response to advertisements in print and electronic media (such as periodicals, TV and radio); and online shopping. The study shows that home shopping are continuously preferred by the customers especially for those teleworkers and busy working class. [1]

History

The possibility for merchants to show their goods through the world was the first usage of the "electroscope" (some kind of television apparatus) imagined by the author of the hoax published in the New York Sun , 30 March 1877. [2] The first such attempt at broadcasting shopping news occurred on February 1, 1927 with the establishment of WASN radio in Boston; owned by John Shepard III, WASN boasted reports from fifteen different department stores in Greater Boston every two hours, mixed with pre-recorded and live orchestra music. [3] [4] Due to technical issues, the format was dropped after five months, and the station eventually merged operations into co-owned WNAC, today known as WBIX. [5] [6] [7] The first experiments at broadcasting home shopping on television occurred in the UK as early as 1934. [8] [9]

The home shopping/electronic retailing industry was created in 1977, when small market talk radio show host Bob Circosta was asked to sell avocado-green-colored can openers live on the air by station owner Bud Paxson, when an advertiser traded 112 units of product instead of paying his advertising bill. Hesitant at first, Circosta reluctantly obliged – and to both men's great surprise, all 112 can openers sold out within the hour. Paxson sensed the vast sales potential of home-based commerce, and founded the world's first shopping channel on cable television, later launching nationwide with the Home Shopping Network (rebranded as HSN). Bob Circosta was America's first-ever TV home shopping host, becoming one of the most instantly recognizable salesmen in the United States. Over the next three decades, Circosta sold over 75,000 different products on HSN, netted over 20,000 hours of live, on-air TV selling, and achieved personal product sales in excess of one billion dollars.[ citation needed ] (The story is disputed; there is some record of Paxson having unsuccessfully tried a similar format in 1969 on one of his earlier TV stations, WNYP in Jamestown, New York.) [10]

The classic television-based home shopping industry quickly became a major player in the retail industry. The two most successful shopping channels – HSN and QVC – generate a combined total of over 10 billion dollars in sales every year.[ citation needed ] And Jewelry Television is the largest gemstone retailer in the world.

Amazon.com began as an online bookstore in 1994, created by Wall Street computer scientist Jeff Bezos. In addition to books, Amazon eventually added video games, computer software, electronics, apparel, and more to its sales repertoire. The company now generates over 200 billion dollars annually. [11]

In Europe, more than 150 home shopping channels were identified in activity in February 2018 by the European Audiovisual Observatory. [12]

Direct response

Direct-response marketing is often considered to be a part of the home shopping/electronic retailing industry. The Electronic Retailing Association, when totaling the combined revenues from all the home shopping companies, estimates that in 2005, the industry generated over 320 billion dollars.[ citation needed ] Direct marketing is a marketing where buyers will give direct response to the sellers and seller will immediately take an order.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">QVC</span> American television network

QVC is an American free-to-air television network and a flagship shopping channel specializing in televised home shopping, owned by Qurate Retail Group. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Chester, Pennsylvania, United States, QVC broadcasts to more than 350 million households in seven countries, including channels in the UK, Germany, Japan, and Italy, along with a joint venture in China with China National Radio called CNR Mall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HSN</span> American home shopping television network

HSN, an initialism of its former name Home Shopping Network, is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Qurate Retail Group, which also owns catalog company Cornerstone Brands. It is based in the Gateway area of St. Petersburg, Florida, United States.

Joseph Myron Segel was an American entrepreneur. He was the founder of over 20 American companies, most notably QVC, an American television network, and the Franklin Mint, a producer of mail-order collectibles. Segel was named to the Direct Marketing Association's Hall of Fame in 1993. He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Electronic Retailing Association and an honorary doctorate from Drexel University.

Lowell White "Bud" Paxson was an American media executive. In 1982, Paxson and his business partner, Roy Speer, co-founded the Home Shopping Club. He later established Pax TV in 1998, a television network focusing on family-friendly content.

America's Store was a US shopping television network. It was the spin-off channel to the Home Shopping Network (HSN). On April 3, 2007, America's Store ceased broadcasting permanently.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KUCW</span> CW TV station in Ogden, Utah

KUCW is a television station licensed to Ogden, Utah, United States, broadcasting the CW network to Salt Lake City and the state of Utah. It is owned and operated by network majority owner Nexstar Media Group alongside ABC affiliate KTVX. Both stations share studios on West 1700 South in Salt Lake City, while KUCW's transmitter is located atop Farnsworth Peak in the Oquirrh Mountains.

WQHS-DT is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, broadcasting the Spanish-language Univision and UniMás networks. Owned and operated by TelevisaUnivision, it is the only full-power Spanish-language television station in the state of Ohio. WQHS-DT's studios and transmitter are located on West Ridgewood Drive in suburban Parma.

KPXD-TV is a television station licensed to Arlington, Texas, United States, serving as the Ion Television outlet for the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, the station has offices on Six Flags Drive in Arlington, and its transmitter is located in Cedar Hill, Texas.

KPXG-TV is a television station licensed to Salem, Oregon, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to the Portland area. Owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, the station has offices on Southwest Naito Parkway in downtown Portland, and its transmitter is located in the Sylvan-Highlands section of the city.

WIPX-TV is a television station licensed to Bloomington, Indiana, United States, serving the Indianapolis area as an affiliate of Ion Television. It is owned by Inyo Broadcast Holdings alongside Bounce TV affiliate WCLJ-TV. WIPX-TV and WCLJ-TV share offices on Production Drive in southwestern Indianapolis; through a channel sharing agreement, the two stations transmit using WIPX-TV's spectrum from an antenna on SR 252 in Trafalgar, Indiana.

WNYB is a television station licensed to Jamestown, New York, United States, serving the Buffalo area as an owned-and-operated station of Tri-State Christian Television (TCT). Its transmitter is located on Center Road in Arkwright. WNYB maintained studios on Big Tree Road in Orchard Park until TCT ended local operations in June 2018.

WWDP is a television station licensed to Norwell, Massachusetts, United States, serving the Boston area as an affiliate of ShopHQ. It is owned by WRNN-TV Associates alongside Foxborough-licensed WMFP. Through a channel sharing agreement, the two stations transmit using WWDP's spectrum from a tower off Pleasant Street in West Bridgewater. WWDP's studios are located on Bert Drive, also in West Bridgewater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WUTF-TV</span> UniMás affiliate in Worcester, Massachusetts

WUTF-TV is a television station licensed to Worcester, Massachusetts, United States, broadcasting the Spanish-language UniMás network to the Boston area. It is owned by Entravision Communications, which provides certain services to Marlborough-licensed Univision-owned station WUNI under a joint sales agreement (JSA) with TelevisaUnivision. WUTF-TV's studios are located on 4th Avenue, and its transmitter is located on Cedar Street, both in Needham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ion Media</span> American television broadcast company

Ion Media, LLC is a division of Scripps Networks that operates the linear broadcast networks Ion Television and Ion Plus. Prior to its acquisition by the E. W. Scripps Company, the company owned and operated over 71 television stations in most major American markets, and also operated Qubo and Ion Shop. After being operated as a private company since it entered and emerged from bankruptcy in 2009, it was acquired by the E. W. Scripps Company and merged with its Katz Broadcasting subsidiary on January 7, 2021, creating the new Scripps Networks division to manage those assets separately from its traditional broadcast network-affiliated television stations.

The Shop at Home Network was a television network in the United States, owned and operated by the E. W. Scripps Company from 2002 to 2006, then by Jewelry Television. It primarily aired home shopping programming. During Scripps' ownership, some shows simulcast on sister channels.

Shopping channels are a type of television program or specialty channel devoted to home shopping. Their formats typically feature live presentations and demonstrations of products, hosted by on-air presenters and other spokespeople who provide a sales pitch for the product. Viewers are also instructed on how they can order the product. Shopping channels may focus primarily on mainstream merchandise, or more specialized categories such as high-end fashion and jewelry. The term can also apply to channels whose programming consists exclusively of direct-response advertising and infomercials.

WNPX-TV is a television station licensed to Franklin, Tennessee, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to the Nashville area. It is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company alongside CBS affiliate WTVF. WNPX-TV's transmitter is located near Cross Plains, Tennessee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USA Broadcasting</span> Former television broadcaster

USA Broadcasting was an American television broadcasting company owned by the veteran entertainment industry executive Barry Diller. This company was the over-the-air broadcasting arm of USA Networks. Before founding USA Broadcasting, Diller was a helper in Gulf+Western's failed Paramount Television Service and News Corporation's new Fox Broadcasting Company that was launched on October 9, 1986.

Bob Circosta is an American businessman and TV host. He is television's first ever home shopping host and has achieved over one billion dollars in personal product sales on live television. His offices are in Clearwater, Florida, just a few miles from the Home Shopping Network (HSN)'s corporate building.

A home shopping host is the on-air host that partners with guests on television shopping channels, such as HSN, QVC, Jewelry Television and ShopHQ. The job of a home shopping host is to introduce new presenters and guests to the television audience, and help these guests explain the values and features of the product being showcased.

References

  1. ↑ Gould, Jane; Golob, Thomas F. (October 1997). "Shopping without travel or travel without shopping? an investigation of electronic home shopping". Transport Reviews. 17 (4): 355–376. doi:10.1080/01441649708716991. ISSN   0144-1647. S2CID   166945471.
  2. ↑ "The Electroscope", The New York Sun, 30 March 1877.
  3. ↑ "New Station Will Take Air Tomorrow." Boston Herald, January 30, 1927, p. 6A.
  4. ↑ "WASN, Boston's New Radio Station, Opened". The Boston Globe . February 1, 1927. p. 25. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  5. ↑ Halper, Donna (2015). Invisible Stars: A Social History of Women in American Broadcasting. New York: Routledge. p. 39. ISBN   978-1317520184.
  6. ↑ "Broadcast History - Boston Broadcasting". www.oldradio.com. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
  7. ↑ "FCC History Cards for WEZE".
  8. ↑ "La télévision permet d'acheter à distance", Le Monde illustré, 17 novembre 1934
  9. ↑ "To Get Style Views as Well As News", Flesherton Advance, 24 Oct 1934
  10. ↑ Fybush, Scott (January 12, 2015). Salary Controversy Ousts Public TV Exec. NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-11-27. Retrieved 2021-01-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. ↑ MAVISE database, European Audiovisual Observatory, retrieved 20 February 2018
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