DISCUSSION
HSN and QVC shop for retail store space
Written by RetailWire Staff
Photo: QVC
Television shopping channels HSN and QVC are doubtlessly aware that, in the homes of Millennials and Generation Zers, cable television isn’t the ubiquitous fixture that it was for their parents. While the two networks have reportedly been doubling down on digital and mobile to chase the cord-cutters, their latest moves point in the direction of bricks, not clicks.
Both networks are looking to expand their now minimal brick-and-mortar presences into one of the highest-profile areas for shopping in the country, the New York Post reported. The retailers have been eyeing locations on West 34th Street in Manhattan. HSN currently has outlets in Florida only. QVC has a few scattered around the country, concentrated mostly in Pennsylvania.
A move onto West 34th Street near Herald Square, home to the Macy’s flagship store, could mean the networks are each rethinking the role of the physical store in how they do business. But with the companies’ respective moves into Manhattan only in the preliminary stages, one can only speculate about what omnichannel technologies the stores might leverage and what shape the retail experiences may take.
Both networks have meanwhile been trying to make inroads into the mobile and digital shopping spaces with a variety of shopping apps. QVC released an Apple Watch app as well as an Apple TV app that facilitates one-click purchasing. And in a move reminiscent of retailers like Lowe’s, HSN recently released an augmented reality smartphone app that allows people to view their homes with images of products they want superimposed over the space.
Both have also struggled to translate their businesses onto the online world. QVC and HSN have live-streaming presences on the web for non-cable ready customers, but they’re seeing big-name competition. Earlier this year, Amazon launched Style Code Live, an interactive shopping show that streams on Amazon.com. The program features young celebrity hosts and is being used to promote the company’s private label fashion brands.