Direct response TV opens retail doors

While retailers lament stagnant sales figures, direct response television (just think Miracle Foot Repair) advocates are aiming to further tap into the Hong Kong market - with the 'new' China also top of the list.

According to the Electronic Retail Association (ERA) president and chief executive officer Elissa Myers - visiting from Washington DC last week - 'there is no question' we will see more direct response TV (DRTV) and electronic retailing in the near future. You may think you do not need another set of steak knives, but many retailers have seen the success of DRTV in the United States and hope to see that emulated in Asia.

'Anyone who has a product should be considering this [electronic retailing],' Ms Myers said following a two-day ERA meeting in Hong Kong. 'The word that we're spreading is that this isn't a threat . . . it's about complementing traditional retail businesses.'

Ms Myers also expects the online shopping concept to leap-frog advances made in the area in the US and that potential in China was much of the reason for her visit.

The ERA, founded in 1990, is a trade association that aims to stimulate total retail sales, increase the percentage of those that occur electronically and create a favourable climate in which electronic retailers can operate.

Both DRTV and Internet retailers are represented. It also has offices in Paris and Beijing and has a working committee for Asia based in Hong Kong.