T-Commerce Beats E-Commerce - The triumph of the QVC shopping channel. By Daniel Gross

T-Commerce Beats E-Commerce - The triumph of the QVC shopping channel. By Daniel Gross "... for 16 years, QVC has quietly been doing exactly what online retailers so loudly claimed they could do: use a cheap electronic medium to reach millions of customers, sell goods without stores, make interactive shopping fun, deploy sophisticated technology to save on inventory and shipping—and make money hand over fist.
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But QVC's advantage also lies in the overall shopping experience. In the end, watching QVC is a far richer and more satisfying event than shopping at Amazon.com. Customers can call in and chat with the hosts. Sales operators offer everyone who calls a friendly voice in the night. Purchasers are subject to the warmth of human suasion rather than the cool logic of data and text information. Online shoppers have to seek out Amazon and then search for items on it. By contrast, QVC reaches out to its customers. What's more, QVC offers more instant gratification to impulse buyers and serious shoppers alike. An insomniac with a credit card and a touch-tone telephone can make a purchase from the comfort of her couch. Despite all the hype, t-commerce still beats e-commerce."