Building Credibility For Home Shopping Remains A Challenge: HomeShop18 CEO
This year, the focus is largely on scaling up the website – Homeshop18.com – into a virtual mall. After the recent re-launch, the site has now added more products and categories for shoppers, including the fast-growing babycare segment. Sundeep Malhotra, CEO, Homeshop18 , discusses how online shopping behaviour has changed over the years, the challenge of building credibility for home shopping, the upcoming launch of an online loyalty programme and more.
Can you tell us how HomeShop18 has been scaling up over the past year?
We started as a website delivering flowers and gifts through a toll-free number and a 15-second commercial which was featured on all Network18 channels. That was in 2008 and over the past three years, we have received a tremendous response from customers and continued our growth momentum. We grew 124 per cent in FY10 over FY09 and our revenues increased by 73 per cent in the quarter ended March, 2011, compared to the same quarter in the previous year. I think in spite of today’s challenging environment, we have delivered a credible performance both in terms of sales as well as viewership.
What do you think of e-commerce usage in India today, compared to five years ago?
There is a definite change in the shopping habits of consumers. Convenience is becoming vastly important to consumers, given the value of time and infrastructure challenges in our country. Today, over 25 per cent of our shoppers are repeat customers. Also, the internet can be accessed by more people – nearly 60 million Indians are online today, and broadband and data cards are becoming popular. The internet offers price comparison, easy selection of products and, at most times, a price advantage – take electronic goods, for example. Brands are also keen to go online to reach out to more people.
How is HomeShop18 poised, compared to the rest of the e-commerce players?
We are clearly the pioneers and we had launched the first home shopping channel in India. We learnt the business step by step and I believe, we are still in the learning stage. These are still early days in the industry and with new shopping channels coming up, healthy competition, which will bring more credibility to the home shopping business, is rising. However, customers come to HomeShop18 because they like our value proposition, the diversity of products which we sell, the interactive style of our programmes and our brand promise. They enjoy the content on our channel and find the promotional offers exciting. So, that is our USP.
Home Shopping Tv Network - News
But it's not every day that McCargo cooks a meal in somebody's home. Maybe back in the day, but not since 2008, when he became the last man standing on "The Next Food Network Star" and wound up snagging the grand prize - his own TV show.
Moreover, brands are already counting on us as a key distribution network. Five years down the line, we would like to be regarded as the most credible brand for virtual shopping, be it on the internet, television or mobile.
"Those people are asked to do their most extreme shopping they've ever done extreme couponing is entertainment." A stay-at-home mom, Lunda uses coupons to save on grocery and drug store items she knows her family will use.
The site's innovative comparison shopping platform enables customers to easily shop for digital services, compare offers, and place orders directly to leading providers, including Comcast, AT&T, Cox Communications, Verizon, Dish Network,
She did all her shopping at the dollar store; it was amazing she wasn't morbidly obese. So we had her lie down in a coffin and covered her with all the sugar she ate, and had her son read off a eulogy about all the things she was going to miss if she
Argos Launch TV Channel To Challenge Online Shopping
Have made plans to combat the upsurge in online shopping websites by launching an own-brand shopping channel on satellite TV, after the 38-year-old company posted a ‘significant decline’ in sales.
Argos are known throughout the UK through their fairly unique approach to selling a wide range of products both in-store and by catalogue, but with websites such as Amazon tempting more and more users to the low prices and relative ease of buying online, and despite Argos having their own online presence, they felt they needed to make a move to avoid a fairly inevitable decline in progress.
Argos TV went on air at 7pm last night on satellite TV provider Sky (channel #642) to over 10 million homes, and have announced that the aim of the channel (which bears similarities to the likes of QVC and Pricedrop TV), is to help customers ‘explore the benefits of products in more depth than traditional print or online channels’.
Home Retail Group (owners of Argos) have negotiated a deal with Sky which sees them take the #642 slot on the EPG (previously occupied by fellow shopping network JML, which has now switched channels) for 12 months on a trial basis, with plans to continue the network on Sky, and expand to other providers, if the experiment is successful. The channel will broadcast a mix of live, pre-recorded, and repeated content across a 24/7 schedule, meaning viewers
When discussing the channel at its official announcement in March, managing director of Argos Sara Weller said: “The launch of our new TV channel will see us really delivering on our commitment to offer our customers a whole range of convenient ways to shop with Argos. Our most recent catalogue launch in January was the first to fully integrate our growing Twitter and Facebook communities, where customers can access our products, share ideas and discover lots of engaging content. Our ability to connect between channels means that the content we will be producing for Argos TV will also have wider potential applications online and in store, adding further to customer choice, value and convenience.”
While the company’s sales have been below-par this year (currently recorded as 8.1% down on 2010′s figures at a similar point in the year), Home Retail Group will hope that the move into TV shopping will provide the boost that they need to keep up with different-platform competitors. Will Argos TV be a success?
RT : I'm always saddened by religious TV that looks like the Home Shopping Network. YOU WILL BE SAVED!! (subject to a credit check)
RT : I'm always saddened by religious TV that looks like the Home Shopping Network. YOU WILL BE SAVED!! (subject to a credit check)
I can't find my remote and the tv is fucking stuck on the mutha fucking Home Shopping Network !!!!!!
": Bored, nothing is on tv"home shopping networkHome Shopping Tv Network - Bookshelf
Encyclopedia of television
In 1982, the Home Shopping Channel held a permanent spot on the Tampa Bay television system. By 1986, the Home Shopping Channel evolved into the publicly ...Network World
The phenomenal success of the Home Shopping Network — a television show used to display products viewers can order by telephone — encouraged the company to ...Adweek
WXNY-TV, Channel 39, is called LTV (Latin Television) and focuses mostly on Latin music; ... NJ-based WHSE, a home-shopping channel, from USA Broadcasting. ...Shopping Networks, Home Shopping Network, Bid TV, QVC, Gems TV, Shop at Home Network, Ideal World, Shopnbc, Home Shopping Host
Plunkett's Retail Industry Almanac 2008
Television programs, either America's Store or the Home Shopping Network, offer items ranging from 14- karat jewelry to cosmetics to home goods to apparel. ...Daily News Directory
QVC
Shop online for products from top name brands including jewelry, electronics, beauty, and more. QVC is home to the Today's Special Value(R), one item offered each day at a reduced price.
Home Shopping Network
Offers a variety of products featured on the Home Shopping Network, including health, beauty, and home fashions.
HSN.com - The Original Site for Home Shopping
Home Shopping Network - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Home Shopping Network or HSN is a 24-hour basic shopping television network that can be seen on cable, satellite, and some terrestrial channels in the Philippines. ...
Shopping channel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shopping channels are television specialty channels that present ... Spanish. v · d · e Spanish language Broadcast television networks in the United States ...