The recent regulations over infomercials help raise the standards of home shopping market, the Economic Information Daily reported.   Starting August 1, infomercials of drugs, medical equipments, and weight-loss programs are banned from shopping channels across the country. They initially had over 50 percent share of the home shopping market.   Exaggerated advertising and lack of innovations have long characterized the tele-shopping sector, which led to many complaints from consumers in various parts of the country.   Experts said that there are currently more than 400 home shopping companies and the new regulations would be fatal to those that solely sell the banned products. Twenty percent of the existing companies would shrink or be eliminated.   To more large-scaled home shopping companies, the regulations would be a watershed, eliminating those black sheep of the sector and releasing more space for more qualified corporations. For instance, as the largest TV home shopping company in China, Acorn International mainly sells consumer products such as mobile phones, computers, tickets to music performances, and only 10 percent of its products are the banned ones. Its spokesperson said that the regulations can purify the market and rebuild consumer’s confidence, which is positive for the sector’s development.   Business Transformation Many products transfer their sales platform from TV to the Internet. Portals such as Taobao and Ebay have already established a section for weight-loss and beauty products. Since the regulations have come into effect, items under these categories have increased rapidly.   Chen Xinkang, a professor with the school of international business administration at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics commented that online consumers are generally more cultured with a better ability to judge.  Therefore it is a better outlet for those products that are banned on TV.   Some companies will concentrate their efforts on transforming product lines from beauty products to auto products, tickets and travel. At the same time, some labels will also start to employ home shopping as a new sales channel, which provides other opportunities for home shopping companies. Hi-tech Wealth’s recent cooperation with Acorn International to sell its latest mobile phone has achieved impressive sales figures. This serves as a model to other companies to develop the home shopping sales channel.  Suffering from low sales rate, the existing operational method of home shopping companies remains backward. However, many large-scale home shopping companies have started to combine infomercials with other direct selling strategies. For example, Shanghai Oriental CJ adopts online selling and in-house magazines together with TV channels to develop its home shopping business. Some also increase the number of counters in shopping malls to provide after-sales services. These counters can strengthen consumer’s confidence in the sense that it provides an outlet for handling complaints, refund and product exchange.   Foreign investment The influx of foreign investment into China’s home shopping market is prominent. A large Korean home shopping company has launched “Modern Home Shopping Channel” and “Oriental CJ Home Shopping” in cooperation with organizations in Guangdong and Shanghai.  An American home shopping company has signed an agreement with Beijing BTV Home Shopping for a joint venture. Taiwan Eastern Multimedia Group also plans to enter Mainland's home shopping market.   Qi Xiaozhai, a senior researcher at Shanghai commerce and economics research centre, said that China’s home shopping market is still in the development stage and foreign investment would aid the development of the sector. Home shopping companies are not burdened with rent nor limited by geography. Products’ presentation on TV can also stimulate more consumption.   A survey conducted by Shanghai University of Finance and Economics showed that Chinese families like watching TV and TV advertisements are the most efficient means to stimulate interest as well as consumption. All these are favourable factors for the development of home shopping sector.