Television Sales

If you think online shopping invented impulse buying, think again. Home shopping networks were doing 'Buy Now' long before we all started clicking Add To Cart at 2am. In this blog we rewind the VHS of retail history and look at the wild evolution of television sales - from Elvis Presleys hair on live TV to today's algorithm powered checkout.

Before the world discovered overnight delivery and online wishlists, shopping on television was a curiosity. Home shopping networks began in the late 1970s and early 1980s, powered by cable channels looking for fresh ideas and retailers searching for new ways to sell. At the time, the idea of purchasing something by calling a number on screen felt a little magical. While early telethons raised money, home shopping changed the script by selling actual products through live presentations. Suddenly the television was not just entertainment - it was a store.

As cable television expanded through the 80s and 90s, the concept exploded. QVC, HSN and similar channels built a new form of entertainment that was half theatre, half retail. Viewers tuned in for the personalities, the demonstrations and the promise of an amazing deal. There were celebrity jewelry lines, miracle cleaning products, vacuum demonstrations that felt like live magic shows and limited time deals that expired the moment the host stopped speaking. Everything felt urgent. Everything felt exclusive.

I spent several years inside that world as a presenter, and it was easily the most intense on air experience imaginable. I once did a segment selling Elvis Presleys actual hair. Another selling gemstone world globes for weeks at a time. And of course cell phones, when everyone needed their first mobile. Each product demanded instant authority and enthusiasm. You talk live and unscripted for hours while listening to the producer in your earpiece give instructions, warnings, sales figures and last minute facts. There is no retake and no autocue. It is fast paced, relentless and absolutely the hardest form of live television I ever worked in.

Infomercials became the late night companion to home shopping. These longer format programs took a deeper dive into products, turning thirty minute pitch theatre into an art form. They were scripted but delivered with the same high energy persuasion that made shopping networks so successful. Fitness equipment, kitchen gadgets and hair thickening sprays built entire mini industries on infomercial airtime. Audiences stayed up late, partly amused and partly curious if this device really would change their life.

For many people, the attraction of home shopping was less about the products and more about the experience. It was a conversation, not a commercial. Hosts demonstrated products in real time, answered viewer calls and created a sense of participation. You felt like you were part of something unfolding live, not just watching a recorded advertisement. The immediacy generated trust - and that trust sold millions of units.

Then came the internet, and everything changed. Slowly at first, then all at once. Online retailers offered wider selection, more competitive pricing and crucially - user reviews. The moment shoppers could compare products, shipping costs and star ratings without waiting for a show segment, behavior shifted. The convenience that once belonged to the television now lived on websites and apps.

Cable subscriptions began to decline, and as people started cutting the cord the audience for home shopping also thinned. Streaming services changed viewing habits, and the idea of waiting for a scheduled broadcast felt old fashioned. Home shopping channels adapted with websites, social media clips and mobile shopping experiences, but the dominance of Amazon and online marketplaces made competing extremely difficult.

Infomercials suffered a similar fate. On demand viewing removed their captive overnight audience, and viewers were no longer required to sit through long product pitches. The internet provided instant product demonstrations, reviews and unboxing videos that were just a click away. Instead of a single passionate presenter, viewers could watch dozens of independent opinions before buying.

In many ways, we now live in a more advanced version of the shopping channel. Influencers demonstrate beauty products on livestreams, TikTok videos sell gadgets instantly and online retailers run flash sales every minute. It is live selling, just not on television. The medium moved platforms, and the presenters became content creators.

Still, home shopping networks were pioneers. They invented real time retail long before social media. They showed that shopping could be entertaining and conversational. And for those of us who worked in it, it was a high wire act - unpredictable, exhilarating and genuinely unique. While the era of buying gemstone globes at midnight may be fading, the legacy of home shopping lives on every time you watch someone demonstrate a product on your phone and suddenly feel that irresistible urge to click Buy Now.