Diller may set up shop in cyberspace

Home shopping maven Barry Diller's ventures have included the QVC and Home Shopping Network cable channels, and he now has his eye on cyberspace, according to The New York Times.

While TV home shopping finds its biggest supporters among the stay-at-home consumer, Diller says his company's online marketing effort will be aimed at affluent professionals. In an interview last week, Diller predicted that Internet commerce could expand Home Shopping Network's number of transactions from thousands to millions in a single day.

HSN set the groundwork for its online venture with the acquisition two years ago of the Internet Shopping Network, a Web site that currently sells a variety of computer and home business-related products. The report says Diller is spending $10 million to redesign the site so that the company can process orders 24 hours a day.

Diller was quoted as saying he intends to use Home Shopping Network's massive databases to tailor the Internet Shopping Network's online product catalog to consumer buying patterns. In this way, Diller says he hopes to succeed by offering online shoppers exactly what they're looking for.