India's tele-shopping segment pegged at Rs 2,200 cr to grow further

Rising disposable income, nuclear families and changing lifestyle is not only fuelling the growth of modern retail, but also stoking India’s tele-shopping segment.

In contrast to conventional and modern retail, today consumers often order for products or services after watching its demo on TV. These demos generally flash toll free lines to enable consumers to place their order, while offering easy payment options.

At present, the consolidated tele-shopping segment is estimated at Rs 2,200 crore annually and is expected to grow further due to the inability of modern retail to reach unserved markets faster.

“Tele-shopping comprises both dedicated television channels and slots on channels of different genres spanning entertainment, news etc,” Star CJ Network chief executive officer (CEO) Paritosh Joshi told Business Standard .

It is estimated that of the total 220 million households in India, 130 million have cable or direct to home (DTH) TV connection. “The dedicated home shopping channels account for about Rs 700 crore of the total chunk of Rs 2,200 crore,” he said adding the former space was likely to double by December 2012.

Meanwhile, Star CJ today expanded its distribution network in Uttar Pradesh, mainly central and western region. “We are in the process of setting up of our warehouse in central UP to cater the market quicker,” he informed. “Our target audience is households, whose annual income is upwards of Rs 1,50,000. About 25 per cent of our turnover comes from repeat purchase,” he added.

Star CJ is a strategic partnership between Star Group and South Korea-based CJ O Shopping, which is a leading home shopping entity in Asia.Star CJ has been running home shopping channel ‘alive’ since August 2010. Currently, the only other dedicated tele-shopping channel in India is HomeShop18.