Home shopping channels push into brick-and-mortar as TV audiences shrink

TV home shopping channels are expanding into physical retail. Facing a growing e-commerce sector, declining TV viewership and rising broadcast transmission fees, operators are pursuing new revenue streams to shore up profitability.

According to GS Shop, the "Air Clip Fresh" airtight container from kitchenware brand Easy&Free, launched June 16 on its data home shopping channel GS My Shop, generated orders of 130 million won ($84,700) during its broadcast period — 160 percent of the target. The product also posted 20 million won in sales over six days through Sunday at GS The Fresh stores, the company's supermarket chain subsidiary, topping the lifestyle goods category.

Starting Tuesday, eight of the nine products in GS Shop's private-label health supplement brand Simple Bio will go on sale at GS The Fresh locations, beginning with the Dunchon Poreon and Myeongil branches, which record the highest health supplement sales among company-operated stores. The rollout is expected to expand to additional locations over time. GS Shop is also reviewing whether to bring its exclusive olive oil brand Ollevida to GS The Fresh shelves in the second half of the year.

GS Shop and GS The Fresh have been running joint marketing campaigns since early this year through the integrated GS ALL membership program. GS Retail said the two channels are well positioned to generate synergies because both draw a high proportion of female customers in their 40s to 60s. GS The Fresh is the top supermarket chain operator in the country, with 589 stores nationwide as of the first quarter, giving it a strong advantage in reaching customers directly.

NS Home Shopping is also moving into physical retail in earnest through its acquisition of Homeplus Express, the third-largest supermarket chain operator in the country. Homeplus Express currently operates more than 290 stores nationwide and runs a quick-commerce delivery network across the Greater Seoul area. A business model under consideration would use Homeplus Express's physical store network and delivery infrastructure to fulfill orders placed through NS Home Shopping and its online mall.

More home shopping operators are choosing to run their own brick-and-mortar stores. Hyundai Home Shopping Network's offline beauty select shop Coasis is a prime example. Coasis opened its first location at the end of last year inside Hyundai Premium Outlet Space One in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province. This year, the chain added branches at Cheonho, Hyundai Outlet Garden Five and Dongdaemun, bringing the total to four locations.

Unlike established offline beauty select shops such as Olive Young and Daiso, which focus on customers in their teens and 20s, Coasis targets women in their 40s and 50s. The first location drew an average of more than 2,000 visitors per day and exceeded its sales target by more than 50 percent. Hyundai Home Shopping Network plans to expand its lineup of exclusive products from about 30 to 60 items by year-end to strengthen its product offering.

Lotte Home Shopping has been operating a flagship store for French outdoor brand Aigle on Dosandaero in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, since last month. Lotte Home Shopping has held the exclusive domestic license for Aigle since 2024. The Dosan flagship is the brand's third global store after locations in France and Hong Kong. From May 29 through June 18, total Aigle orders rose 20 percent compared with the same period the previous month.

An Aigle pop-up store has also been running at Hyundai Department Store's Chungcheong branch since June 19. The company plans to open new stores in Busan and other parts of the Gyeongsang region before the end of the year. "Aigle's sales have roughly tripled in two years as we have pursued an online-offline integration strategy," a Lotte Home Shopping spokesperson said.