Home shopping's high bar is no barrier: Agency hosts consulting event for 76 small businesses

The Korea SMEs and Startups Agency's distribution arm announced Tuesday it will hold the "2026 First Home Shopping Entry Consulting Event" to help small business owners break into the home shopping market.

The event is part of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' Online Sales Channel Support Project for Small Business Owners. Its aim is to give aspiring home shopping vendors one-on-one consultations with active merchandise directors, boosting the chances that strong products reach broadcast sales.

The event takes place Wednesday at Peace & Park Convention in Yongsan, Seoul. Twenty merchandise directors from six home shopping channels — including NS Home Shopping and Home&Shopping — will meet with representatives from 76 small businesses.

Each participating business will be matched one-on-one with a merchandise director for a competitive analysis of its products. Participants will also receive free consulting on home shopping entry strategy, broadcast sales strategy and quality assurance review coaching.

TV home shopping gives small businesses access to a nationwide consumer audience, but the barriers to entry are steep. Broadcasters scrutinize air suitability, product composition, price competitiveness, inventory capacity and quality assurance compliance before approving a vendor. For small business owners, mastering the sales conventions of each retail channel is often as critical as product quality itself.

Following this first event, a second consulting session is planned for August. Small business owners wishing to participate may apply through the Panpandaero website. Applications may close early if the support quota is filled.

"Home shopping is admittedly hard to break into, but it is an attractive platform that lets you promote and sell your products to consumers nationwide through the powerful medium of television," said Lee Tae-sik, chief executive of the agency. "I hope the small business owners who take part in this event come away with the know-how they need to make their own mark in home shopping."