Does the thought of joining a horde of shoppers at the mall this Christmas season leave you with a touch of agoraphobia? No need to brave the crowds - Roku offers plenty of shopping channels so you can do your gift shopping from the comfort of your living room. Whether its electronics, jewelry, clothing, collectibles, or something else, you're likely to find it one of the Roku shopping channels. There are over 20 channels in the Shopping category, but here are our favorites to get you started.
HSN - The granddaddy of shopping channels, the brand that launched an entire TV genre, HSN offers a live stream of their cable and over-the-air broadcast. Unique to Roku, the HSN channel also features their patented Shop Remote tool that lets you order directly from your Roku (currently, this feature does not work on the new Roku 4). You can also use your remote to search for specific items, browse recently-aired items, and see Today's Special. If all that isn't enough for you, Roku also carries HSN2, a time-delayed stream of the HSN broadcast, and HSN-Electronics, a prerecorded stream of previous broadcasts featuring electronics.
QVC - The other leader in shopping channels also brings its live cable and OTA broadcast to Roku with a wide range of gifts, holiday decor, electronics, jewelry, fashion, toys, and more. A programming guide is available on the QVC website so you can watch when categories that interest you are being broadcast. Also available is the QVC Plus channel with original and previously-recorded programming.
EVINE Live - Starting life as ValueVision in 1990, then becoming ShopNBC in 2000, then morphing into ShopHQ in 2013, this shopping channel has again been rebranded into its current form. EVINE Live features gifts, jewelry, watches, fashion, beauty, electronics, and much more on their Roku simulcast of their live broadcast. A programming guide can be found on their website.
Jewelry Television - Although the title would have you believe they sell finished jewelry, this channel bills itself as "the largest retailer of loose gemstones... in the United States." In addition to loose gemstones, this channel offers gemstone kits, mineral specimens, settings, gemology tools, and other jewelry making supplies. The Roku channel features the live JTV broadcast, but also displays a photo, description, and price for the currently-featured item being promoted on the channel.
Create and Craft - If you prefer to give handcrafted gifts made in your own home, this channel offers all the supplies you need, whether you're doing sewing, knitting, beading and jewelry, baking, or other crafts. The hosts give you ideas and show you how to use the supplies that they're selling.
Those are just five of the 20-plus shopping channels available on Roku. Click here for the full list.
