Couch-potato subscribers to EchoStar's (NASDAQ:DISH) DISH Network can now shop after they drop, assuming they tune into IAC/InterActiveCorp's (NASDAQ:IACI) Home Shopping Network.
The satellite television's 12 million subscribers will need interactive set-top boxes to make it work, but before long, they'll be able to snap up live deals airing on HSN by simply clicking the "select" button on their remotes.
Sure, it's dangerous. Folks with iffy willpower will discover how easy it is to max out their credit card statements. HSN is redefining convenience with its Shop by Remote service, but it's also pushing shopaholics one step closer to overspending.
To be fair, easing the transactional process isn't always a recipe for disaster. I've never heard of the handy 1-Click feature sending anyone on an Amazon.com (NYSE:AMZN) spending spree. We're not necessarily any fatter today, just because pizza chains like Domino's (NYSE:DPZ) and Papa John's (NASDAQ:PZZA) have taken their order-gathering onto the Web. And Internet poker hasn't drained your bank account -- or maybe that's a bad example.
Simplicity sells. Whether it's ordering songs through your cell phone or having DVD rentals waiting in your mailbox, streamlining the purchasing process is evolutionary. As long as you don't lose your sense of thriftiness along the way, you'll be fine.
So go ahead and enjoy fighting for the remote -- as long as you really wanted that lawn gnome sprinkler you ordered at 3 a.m.
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Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has nothing against lawn gnome sprinklers. He isn't even sure if they actually make them. He's also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. He does not own shares in any of the companies in this story. The Fool has a disclosure policy.
