In this digital age, it seems the place we love to shop the most is on the couch. From online catalogs to marketplaces and pantry sites like Amazon, many brick-and-mortar stores have seen huge migrations to their online platforms. Enter TheShops.TV—an online shopping market that’s redefining home shopping and how consumers look for and buy products.
It’s been called “the Netflix of home shopping.” But 18-year Woodbury resident and TheShops.TV host Anne Lynch says there are several key differences that make this site and its platform stand apart from the traditional home shopping networks such as QVC, HSN and Evine. “It’s a watch-what-you-want-when-you-want platform,” Lynch says. “And it’s only on the internet and social media.”
In the traditional sense, home shopping has previously required a cable channel, a studio, a permanent crew and air time on television. The problem with this model, Lynch says, is that not everyone has cable television anymore, and even if you do, if you’re not interested in what’s being sold at that moment, passing up the channel is easy.
By solely using the internet and shooting segments outside the typical studio location (think hotels and backyards), TheShops.TV can appeal to a whole new audience that’s already been primed for on-demand content while keeping the historically successful platform of selling products in a live, unscripted format.
“(This model) is good because it lets us explain specs and features that the customer might see on a box but not really understand how it fits into their own experience at home,” Lynch says. “It’s been a successful format from that standpoint.”
Everything from jewelry to electronics and fashion to home appliances is on TheShops.TV, featured in short segments (three minutes or less) that explain the product, what it does, how to use it and what some of the details are that a customer might not be able to glean from the product’s website. All the while, TheShops.TV uses home shopping industry veterans such as Lynch to humanize the product and make it relatable. In her 18 years in the home shopping industry, Lynch has worked on all the major shopping channels, including HSN, ShopNBC (now Evine Live) and QVC, developing a specialty in electronics. TheShops.TV came on the scene almost two years ago.
CEO Esther Kestenbaum says the idea for this new twist on an old platform came from research pointing to a shift in how video is consumed. “The opportunity for e-commerce is growing so quickly, as it is for video,” Kestenbaum says. “Really where we based our company is at this crossroads.”
With her background in Silicon Valley startups, Kestenbaum says she’s seen first-hand how video has changed, justifying the need for on-demand, not appointment-based television and online shopping in general. “There’s no need any more for anyone to watch like this,” she says. “ … But that doesn’t mean humans and understanding go away even though you’re not in a store.”
Kestenbaum says working with industry veterans and home shopping experts such as Lynch is part of what has made TheShops.TV so successful. “It’s amazing to work with Anne,” she says. “She’s a complete professional. She steps in and doesn’t need to be told what to do. She brings these products to life with a blend of warmth and credibility … and helps you understand how these products really fit in your life.”
