HSN Seeks ‘Interactive TV Shopping’ This Year

Cable television shopping network HSN plans to initiate shopping by remote control, according to news reports. The TV retailer is negotiating with cable television operators nationwide to launch “interactive TV shopping,” in which customers register payment and mailing options in advance and use their remote controls to make purchases. Tom McInerney, head of electronic retailing for the Home Shopping Network’s parent company, IAC/InterActiveCorp, told the press: “It’s really up to the individual cable operators, but we’re confident we’ll have interactive TV shopping in millions of homes during 2005.”

ICE.com Adds Catalogs

Online jewelry retailer ICE.com has added catalogs to its marketing mix, according to media reports. Its first catalog, printed in October 2004, delivered a .25 percent conversion rate and $547,000 in sales. It featured 375 items from ICE.com‘s Web site of 7,000 SKUs, and its mailing list was a 50-50 mix of existing customers and prospects, according to a report. By 2006, the merchant hopes to mail three catalogs annually, for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Holiday.

Sources: The New York Times, St. Petersburg Times, www.dmnews.com