Korean Home Shopping Networks Deploy AI to Combat Falling Viewership and Rising Costs
South Korea's home shopping industry is restructuring around artificial intelligence, using chatbots to drive customer traffic and AI hosts and production systems to cut costs as traditional broadcast models struggle.
CJ ONSTYLE saw app and web traffic from conversational AI platforms quadruple between January and May, according to industry sources. The company optimized 600,000 products for its dedicated ChatGPT app and now uses AI to analyze customer purchase and search data to recommend tailored products.
That approach works. Gross merchandise volume in CJ ONSTYLE's AI-powered recommendation section rose 37 percent year-over-year through April.
Lotte Home Shopping launched the industry's first dedicated ChatGPT app, letting customers check programming schedules, popular show times, and product information without visiting the website. Recommended products link directly to purchase pages.
AI Hosts and Production Systems Cut Staffing Costs
NS Home Shopping introduced an AI host on a 10-minute broadcast this month, marking the first time the company deployed the technology for live sales content. The move reduces production costs and improves scheduling efficiency.
NS Home Shopping also deployed "AI Consultation Assist," which analyzes customer-agent conversations in real time and recommends solutions. The system helped the company earn recognition as an outstanding call center from the Korea Management Association Consulting.
GS SHOP went further, transitioning its entire production process to center on AI. The company uses generative AI to select models, write scripts, and produce video - not just assist with tasks. GS SHOP became the first in the industry to deploy a generative AI virtual model on live broadcast.
An industry official said the shift saves significant resources. Fashion product shoots typically require 40 to 50 staff members to handle studio setup, lighting, and coordination. AI reduces that footprint substantially, freeing resources for customer service and product development.
Structural Pressures Drive the Shift
Home shopping networks face mounting pressure from declining TV viewership and rising transmission fees paid to cable operators. The Broadcasting, Media and Communications Commission released its first "Home Shopping Coexistence and Revitalization Plan" on May 22 to address the problem.
The plan phases down mandatory programming ratios for small and medium-sized enterprise products and strengthens policy coordination in transmission fee negotiations between pay-TV operators and home shopping companies.
Commission Chairman Kim Jong-cheol said the measures aim to help the industry "maintain a spirit of coexistence while regaining at least some vitality."
For sales professionals, the shift signals where the industry is heading: AI-driven customer engagement, data-driven product recommendations, and automation of routine production and service tasks are now standard practice, not experiments.
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