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Why are people getting so excited about home shopping?

Home shopping is set to revolutionise our weekly shop. Instead of the

dreary, stressful visit to the supermarket, we can to do the weekly shop

via the phone, Internet and interactive television.

Who offers the service?

At the moment supermarkets such as Tesco, Iceland and Sainsbury’s offer

home shopping via the phone, fax or Internet. British Interactive

Broadcasting (BIB), a joint venture between BSkyB, BT, Midland bank and

Matsushita, is hoping to launch next year to provide a digital

interactive home shopping system that will be made up of different

branded channels. UK pay-TV operator Flextech is launching an

alternative to BIB, with stations offering home shopping, banking and

travel as well as Internet access and business channels.

How does this work?

The idea is that the channels will allow the customers to choose

products shown on screen and buy directly online.

Sounds great. When can I sign up?

The software is still in the developing stages, and according to retail

analysts, may not be available for some time. The equipment needed to

work BIB is not available, although it is being tested in certain

areas.

Is home shopping a threat for retailers?

According to recent research carried out by Verdict Research, negative

consumer attitudes and too few homes with access to the Internet will

mean that home shopping will not have a widespread appeal for another

few years. But a drop in the number of store visits could mean that

retailers will miss out on lucrative impulse purchases. According to

analysts, shopping will always be a ’touch and feel experience’;

incredibly we still seem to like the shopping experience.

So how will the advent of home shopping affect marketers’ ability to

reach consumers?

The option to just re-order your usual groceries will make it harder for

retailers to push new products. But analysts believe that people will

use a home shopping service mainly to order the bulky parts of their

shopping (washing powders etc). Supermarkets are set to become more like

food emporiums, with freshly cooked foods and more wine sampling to

encourage those impulse purchases.