Donna Braun discovered QVC when flipping through TV channels in the early 1990s. Her first purchase, made by phone call, was a throw blanket sold by former host Mary Beth Roe. <\/p>\n
Through the years, Braun remained a regular customer of the West Chester-based home shopping network. She bought Bearpaw boots, Diamonique simulated-diamond jewelry, and Telco Motionette animated Christmas figurines, among other finds. <\/p>\n
Now a retired school district worker with grown children and disposable income, Braun said she spends more than ever on QVC \u2014 about $200 a week. <\/p>\n
But she no longer turns on the TV to shop. With a few taps on her iPad, she browses products, watches segments, and buys clothes, shoes, and home goods. <\/p>\n
\u201cTheir quality is still great,\u201d said Braun, 62, of Warwick Township, Bucks County<\/a>. \u201cAs long as they\u2019re around, I will shop.\u201d<\/p>\n Like other QVC loyalists, Braun said she hopes the network\u2019s recent financial struggles do not mark the beginning of its end.<\/p>\n What\u2019s happening to QVC?<\/p>\n QVC Group, which owns QVC and HSN, is considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy<\/a> to reorganize billions in debt, Bloomberg reported last month.<\/p>\n For years, the company\u2019s revenue and operating income have been declining and customers have fled, according to recent earnings reports. As of September, about 7 million people had made a purchase<\/a> on QVC or HSN in the past year, down from 8.1 million in 2023.<\/p>\n The company delayed the release of its latest earnings report<\/a>, further fueling bankruptcy speculation<\/a> among analysts.<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: QVC may file for bankruptcy, according to a new report. Here\u2019s what to know.<\/a><\/p>\n QVC has not commented on the report of a possible bankruptcy, but a spokesperson last week said the company plans to be around \u201cfor years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are so thankful to have one of the most loyal customer bases in retail,\u201d spokesperson Matthew Goldstein said in a statement. \u201cWe love our QVC and HSN customers and are grateful for the opportunity to bring them new discoveries, inspiration and joy every day.\u201d<\/p>\n But those faithful shoppers are aging: Nearly \u00be of QVC\u2019s customers in 2024 were women over 50, according to an SEC filing.<\/a><\/p>\n QVC needs to expand its customer base to become profitable again, said Lawrence Duke, a clinical professor<\/a> at Drexel University<\/a>\u2019s LeBow College of Business. <\/p>\n \u201cThey have to keep trying out different things to see what\u2019s going to stick with that younger generation,\u201d Duke said. <\/p>\n QVC has leaned more heavily on social-media and livestream shopping<\/a> in recent years, even striking a deal to sell on TikTok Shop<\/a>, which is popular with Gen Z and millennial consumers<\/a>. In the third quarter of 2025, the company added about 255,000 new customers through TikTok Shop, CEO David L. Rawlinson II<\/a> said in November on a company earnings call.<\/a> <\/p>\n But QVC\u2019s shop-from-home model, which was novel at its founding 40 years ago, isn\u2019t a unique concept anymore, Duke noted, and it\u2019s tough to compete with the likes of ecommerce giants like Amazon<\/a>. <\/p>\n Some loyal QVC customers have died<\/p>\n In a sign of just how much QVC\u2019s customer base is aging, one refrain has been common in Facebook comments about the company\u2019s struggles: \u201cThis is because my mother died.\u201d<\/p>\n The grown children of late QVC fans have bonded over the joy the network brought their parents, usually their mothers \u2014 and over all the KitchenAid appliances, Susan Graver clothes, and Philosophy soaps they inherited. <\/p>\n \u201cWe were definitely in good company,\u201d said Cindy Keleher, 54, of Warminster. She jokingly wrote on Facebook that QVC\u2019s distress could be linked to the 2020 death of her mother, Charlotte Stillman, whose obituary referenced her love of QVC. <\/a><\/p>\n Stillman, a longtime Southampton resident, likely spent tens of thousands of dollars on QVC over her 79 years, her daughters said. When she died, they paid off a $5,000 balance on her QVC credit card; donated tons of unworn clothes, winter coats, and shoes; and sold or gifted bread makers, air fryers, and other kitchen appliances that had been used once at most, they said. <\/p>\n The women laugh often about their mom\u2019s passion for QVC. \u201cIt made her happy to buy the stuff, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d Keleher said.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel a little bit like it was such a waste,\u201d said Stillman\u2019s older daughter, Sharon Dugan, 60, of Southampton. But at the same time, \u201cshe was just happy to be sitting in her house, sometimes crocheting,\u201d always watching QVC. <\/p>\n Meredith Zamboni, of York County, shared similar memories of her mother, Diane Zamboni, who died in 2019 at the age of 74. When she wasn\u2019t actively watching QVC, it was often still on in the background, offering a kind of companionship.<\/p>\n \u201cShe knew everything about those hosts like they were her friends,\u201d said Zamboni, 54, of Dillsburg. \u201cThey\u2019d laugh and joke and tell stories. I think it made her feel less alone.\u201d<\/p>\n And her mother bought the jewelry, clothing, and dolls her virtual friends were selling, Zamboni said. She has a tractor-trailer-sized storage unit full of her mother\u2019s QVC purchases she plans to eventually sort out. <\/p>\n Cutting back and looking forward<\/p>\n Some once-avid QVC customers have cut back on their spending. <\/p>\n Ten or 20 years ago, \u201cI would be watching all darn day,\u201d said Bea Spriddle, a 58-year-old analyst from Glenside. \u201cI made so many purchases I didn\u2019t even remember ordering things.\u201d<\/p>\n As for how much she spent, \u201cI couldn\u2019t even tell you because it was that darn \u2018easy pay\u2019 that was killing me,\u201d said Spriddle, referencing QVC\u2019s monthly payment plan.<\/a><\/p>\n Now, Spriddle said she occasionally buys jewelry, electronics, and clothing from her favorite QVC brand, Peace Love World. Just the other day, she said, she bought a cell phone for her parents from QVC.<\/p>\n \u201cI use it for certain things because I know they\u2019re a trustworthy company,\u201d Spriddle said. And in her experience, she said, you can actually get through to a human in the customer service department, unlike at some other companies nowadays: \u201cThose chatbots are the pits.\u201d <\/p>\n