HSN launched an Apple iPhone app to view HSN programming 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,
throughout the US. The launch creates the e-commerce industry's first
live-video "3-screen experience," enabling consumers to browse and shop
the network's 35,000-plus array of products from home or on the go.
All the engaging highlights that HSN and hsn.com users enjoy are
packed into the clever app, available for download at both the iTunes
App Store and hsn.com.
Live, 'round-the-clock HSN TV (along with a
library of original videos), the HSN Today's Special, Items Recently Aired,
and the many hosts, featured designers and their tens of thousands of
products are among the familiar and favorite hallmarks of HSN
programming that will be available through the mobile experience.
Additionally, the HSN Shop App brings with it a set of new features,
including the interactive shake2shop, which, with a simple
shake of the device, generates random product recommendations as well
as deals and promotions targeted at HSN's mobile customers.
The HSN Shop App also makes for a seamless transactional experience,
allowing the user to call HSN directly or use the device's browser to
purchase an item. Items can also be saved for later purchase, or
emailed to a friend.
While the HSN Shop App is supremely navigable and user-friendly,
hsn.com will soon feature a tutorial that walks all new users through
the app's various fundamentals and features. To insure the optimal
experience, the app will also evolve based on customer feedback.
Inlet Technologies' Spinnaker(TM) live streaming appliance provides
the encoding backbone for the HSN Shop App's streaming video. Spinnaker
fully supports Apple's HTTP adaptive streaming, which reduces buffering
and other interruptions to create an exceptional viewing experience and
diminish latency, helping HSN customers move through the purchasing
process quickly. Inlet, the leader in advanced encoding solutions for
new media, has been a HSN web streaming partner since 2008.
At launch, the HSN Shop App will be marketed via on-air promos run
throughout HSN TV programming. Other promotional efforts will follow.
The HSN Shop App arrives amidst HSN's ongoing multichannel
convergence effort, which includes expansion of its Shop-by-Remote
service and complete transition to high-definition (HD) format.