Home shopping
Encyclopedia
Home shopping commonly refers to the electronic retailing/home shopping channel
s industry, which includes such billion dollar television-based and e-commerce companies as HSN, QVC
, eBay
, ShopNBC
, 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.
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.
talk radio show host Bob Circosta
was asked to sell avocado
-green
-colored can opener
s 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 Free World
. 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.
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.
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 approximately eight-and-a-half billion dollars annually.
Shopping channel
Shopping channels are television specialty channels that present shopping related content, particularly for home shopping enthusiasts.-USA:* America's Store* Home Shopping Network* Jewelry Television* QVC* Shop at Home Network* ShopNBC...
s industry, which includes such billion dollar television-based and e-commerce companies as HSN, QVC
QVC
QVC is a multinational corporation specializing in televised home shopping. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Goshen Township, Pennsylvania, United States, QVC broadcasts in five countries as QVC US, QVC UK, QVC Germany, QVC Japan and – QVC Italy to 200 million households...
, eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
, ShopNBC
ShopNBC
ShopNBC is an American broadcast and cable home shopping network, owned and operated by ValueVision Media, which is in turn 30% owned by GE Equity and NBC Universal...
, Buy.com
Buy.com
Buy.com, Incorporated is an online retailer based in Aliso Viejo, California.Buy.com began by selling computers and electronics in 1997 and has since expanded into many other categories...
, and Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
, as well as traditional mail order
Mail order
Mail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer...
and brick and mortar
Brick and mortar
Brick and mortar in its most simplest usage is used to describe the physical presence of a building or other structure...
retailers as Hammacher Schlemmer and Sears, Roebuck and Co. Home shopping allows consumers
Consumer
Consumer is a broad label for any individuals or households that use goods generated within the economy. The concept of a consumer occurs in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary.-Economics and marketing:...
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
Retailing
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
and shopping malls.
There are three main types of home shopping: mail or telephone ordering from catalogs
Mail order
Mail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer...
; telephone ordering in response to advertisements in print and electronic media (such as periodicals, TV and radio); and online shopping.
History
The home shopping/electronic retailing industry was created in 1977, when small marketSmall market
In the terminology of professional sports in North America, teams are often said to be based not in a city but in a media market. The size of the media market is usually a good indication of the potential viability of a major league team...
talk radio show host Bob Circosta
Bob Circosta
Bob Circosta 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's corporate building...
was asked to sell avocado
Avocado
The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...
-green
Green
Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
-colored can opener
Can opener
A can opener is a device used to open metal cans. Although preservation of food using tin cans had been practiced since at least 1772 in the Netherlands, the first can openers were patented only in 1855 in England and in 1858 in the United States. Those openers were basically variations of a...
s live on the air by station owner Bud Paxson
Bud Paxson
Lowell W. "Bud" Paxson is an American media executive.A native of Florida, Paxson began his career at a little 500 watt radio station in upstate New York, and later as the owner of a small AM radio station, WWQT 1470 AM, in Clearwater, Florida. There, in 1977, an advertiser had plenty of product...
, 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
Shopping channel
Shopping channels are television specialty channels that present shopping related content, particularly for home shopping enthusiasts.-USA:* America's Store* Home Shopping Network* Jewelry Television* QVC* Shop at Home Network* ShopNBC...
on cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
, later launching nationwide with the Home Shopping Network
Home Shopping Network
Home Shopping Network or HSN began in 1977 as a 24-hour/7 day a week home shopping television network televised via cable, satellite, and some terrestrial channels in the Philippines. HSN can also be shopped online at hsn.com...
(rebranded as HSN). Bob Circosta
Bob Circosta
Bob Circosta 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's corporate building...
was America's first ever TV home shopping host
Home shopping host
A home shopping host is the on-air host that partners with guests on television shopping channels, such as HSN, QVC, and ShopNBC. 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...
,becoming one of the most instantly recognizable salesmen in the Free World
Free World
The Free World is a Cold War-era term often used to describe states not under the rule of the Soviet Union, its Eastern European allies, China, Vietnam, Cuba, and other communist nations. The term often referred to states such as the United States, Canada, and Western European states such as the...
. 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.
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
QVC
QVC is a multinational corporation specializing in televised home shopping. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Goshen Township, Pennsylvania, United States, QVC broadcasts in five countries as QVC US, QVC UK, QVC Germany, QVC Japan and – QVC Italy to 200 million households...
– generate a combined total of over 10 billion dollars in sales every year.
Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
began as an online bookstore in 1994, created by Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
computer scientist
Computer scientist
A computer scientist is a scientist who has acquired knowledge of computer science, the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their application in computer systems....
Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos
Jeffrey Preston "Jeff" Bezos is the founder, president, chief executive officer , and chairman of the board of Amazon.com.-Early life and background:...
. In addition to books, Amazon eventually added video games, computer software
Computer software
Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it....
, electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
, apparel, and more to its sales repertoire. The company now generates approximately eight-and-a-half billion dollars annually.
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.External links
- "Can You Believe This Price?" Time Magazine
- Jeffrey Preston Bezos Time Magazine
- Bob Circosta Interview about the Home Shopping Industry Media Talk
- It started with 112 can openers St. Petersburg Times