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You lie down on the couch, grab your remote, settle in and begin to surf. As you flip through the channels and ponder your many choices of viewing, from time to time you might find yourself strangely drawn to an item being listed on a shopping channel. You don't necessarily have a desire to buy the product, but you watch the host speak and eye the time count down until the presentation ends. Then if you're like me, you probably get bored after a few minutes and flip the channel to something else.

What about the viewers that do regularly tune into T.V. shopping networks? Many of the channels offer structured hours or programs dedicated to selling specific items. Do people really watch the shopping channels nowadays with intent to purchase a product or do they tune in out of curiosity? Now that we can log online and purchase items with the click of a mouse, you'd think that T.V. shopping would go the way of the Betamax and black/white television, but it hasn't. With the plethora of shopping channels available, it seems clear that T.V. shopping still has a place in business and society and has plans to stick around for a while.

Even with the explosion of popularity of Internet shopping, it appears T.V. shopping channels still have their own market niche. Some appealing factors may be the consumer doesn't have to actively search for a product, the products are shown to them and it's as simple as picking up the phone to place an order. This might be of interest to people who are searching for gift ideas or simply like to hear market pitches and see demonstrations about different products before making a purchase. To some consumers, hunting and searching down items on the Internet to read isn't as appealing and going to the store doesn't offer the same convenience. The bonus for the merchants is that not only do they offer on T.V., but many tote the same wares on their websites which gives them the ability to reach a dual audience.

Years ago advertisers used to run enticing and attractive "only on T.V." commercials that touted products that (at the time) you couldn't find perusing your local stores. For instance, have you ever surfed the channels and come across one of those "Time Life" commercials that focus on nostalgia of an earlier time to sell C.D. compilations? Did you ever wonder, even for a moment, "Wow, I wish I had that C.D.?" I've never purchased one, but those commercials for some reasons always had me hooked! It's not inconceivable to see that T.V. shopping channels still fill a societal need or desire.

Since the birth of cable television, those "only on T.V." offers have found a place to call home on T.V. shopping channels; since their inception, this outlet has opened up all kinds of possibilities and merchants jumped in on the action. Over the years T.V. shopping networks have fulfilled a market need, and while many people don't need them anymore since choices in shopping have greatly expanded, it seems that customers still do.

Learn more about this author, Leigh Goessl.
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