The initial benefit of the QVC-HSN merger comes from economies of scale in a mature segment. (It’s the same kind of play that Macy’s made for May Company several years ago, recognizing the lack of organic growth in traditional department stores.) But it’s clear that home shopping (via TV) is not where the action is. It’s up to QVC to figure out how to translate the “treasure hunt” experience of off-pricers to its model, and especially how to engage mobile shoppers at its site. This becomes a more urgent problem as more and more consumers (especially younger ones) cut the cable cord.

I see this acquisition as a smart move. The appeal of QVC and HSN is no longer what it once was so this could help their survival. That said, how they move forward is imperative because they must bring technology into the mix. One thought about how to do this is that while watching QVC on TV, shoppers could have a real-time app allowing them to instantly order the item. Another is introducing a web-based real-time QVC network allowing the same opportunity. Visuals and live demonstrations have a great benefit but as the internet provides more video and 3-D demonstrations QVC needs to be creative if they wish to compete.

TV shopping is being disrupted by online just as brick-and-mortar is. I believe QVC’s acquisition is primarily about e-commerce and how it remains relevant in the era of online and Amazon. Consolidating efforts will make QVC a stronger player enabling it to more effectively compete against Amazon and Walmart, but it will need to evolve to meet the needs of a changing market. Younger consumers are cutting ties to TV and so the base of TV shoppers is declining. Ultimately, QVC will need to find ways to attract new customers and this will require significant changes to the way they have historically done business.

Television shopping is one of the great selling mediums and is often overlooked. Just think about the fact that combined, these two companies will have the third largest e-commerce platform behind Amazon and Walmart. That is a huge business. This type of shopping has fantastic benefits for brands because it provides an opportunity to tell your story and demonstrate your product directly to the viewer. For the user it is shoppertainment. The viewers of shopping channels form emotional bonds with both the hosts and brand presenters. Viewers will wait to watch a Wolfgang Puck or a Jennifer Flavin launch a new product. And the demographics of these viewers would make Amazon and Walmart drool. It is not someone in middle America, like most people think. This acquisition is entirely about e-commerce using TV as the selling medium. Having used this channel to launch brands, I can tell you it is a great method for building national awareness very quickly. But it has limitations. It is great for beauty products, fashion products, jewelry and niche food… Read more »

Half of sales from QVC and HSN are currently from e-commerce, and the threat from Amazon is clearly front and center for both companies, so e-commerce is clearly in focus. The biggest opportunity in this merger is for the two brands to strategically differentiate each from the other. Slice data shows that there is high overlap between QVC.com and HSN.com shoppers and that the shopper demographics are virtually identical. Greater differentiation will expand the customer base and allow each to become more relevant to its customers.

I think it’s about both. QVC has done a better job synchronizing e-commerce and TV. The audience is aging out, so consolidating makes all the sense in the world.

Good move.

Home shopping TV programming offers consumers something Amazon can’t: the opportunity to discover surprising new products that add value to their lives.

After all, when Amazon has a new, exciting product they’ve developed, they put it on TV and put it in stores (Alexa, etc … ). Amazon and online buying sites are poor places for discovery, surprise and engagement with new things.

Rather than get lost in a “how do I compete with Amazon” style strategy, they will need to leverage this strength to grow. Assuming they continue to do so, the combined networks will do quite well no matter what Amazon chooses to do.

I think television-based shopping is a generational phenomenon and its target generation is rapidly fading away. Sure, there is a “push” element to QVC and HSN you don’t have on pure-play e-tailers, but I’m not sure its allure is enough to save any television-based model.

Could the merged company be a serious threat to Walmart.com and or Amazon.com? I’m more than a little skeptical that it could and I think its threat diminishes significantly over time.

So if I’m right the merger is a hedge against the inevitable at best and the initial death throes of a channel at worst.

Big fish in a small pond or small fish in a big pond? The move by QVC to acquire HSN will make QVC the biggest fish in a shrinking pond. But the good news here is that the size of the pond can be expanded to thinking about screens and not being restricted to TVs that are hard-linked in living rooms.

The two companies bring expertise and solid history in sourcing/buying and a ton of data on their customers that is valuable for future assortment decisions and more personalized offerings.

The current setup in the market suggests this is a last gasp for air by a once mighty giant. I see it as an opportunity to capture market share and recast it in a more expansive business model that offers consumers more choices and does not rely on traditional TV couch potatoes; high risk, high potential rewards.

This is really about consolidating audiences in a declining market. It’s true that both firms have seen a majority of their orders shift from phone to e-commerce, but the overwhelming majority of purchase intent for both firms is their TV content. What they sell online is what’s promoted on the show, not what’s in their deep catalogs.

The challenge for both firms is that neither firm is very successful at acquiring new shoppers. So this acquisition helps in the short term by aggregating audiences but doesn’t do much for the longer term. Millennials and Gen Z are pulling content they are interested in rather than letting TV networks push content to them.

You can shop at the mall. You can shop online. You can shop on TV. QVC and HSN is a different experience than online or instore. It is its own separate channel (no pun intended). I’m sure savvy shoppers will compare prices online while being pitched on TV. So, no threat to Amazon or Walmart.com. Just more competition, which is good for the consumer.

This acquisition makes sense for both brands. Their audience is aging on the TV side, and younger shoppers are less and less interested in television as a medium altogether. While they are both seeing over half their sales come from ecommerce, they’ll need to find innovative ways to blend all their channels to find a younger audience for the long term with a special emphasis on mobile commerce. The combined QVC/HSN should be in a good position to combat Amazon and carve out a unique customer base in certain product categories. Perhaps the best strategy for them will be to focus on categories not dominated by Amazon or Walmart. Overall a good move for both.