If you’ve ever channel-surfed in the late evening, there’s a solid chance you saw ShopHQ. Maybe they were selling gemstone bracelets, cookware bundles, or a familiar kitchen gadget. The network’s hosts always looked energetic, even past midnight, and for some people, ShopHQ was background noise or a go-to for gifts. But now, things are changing for good.
From ValueVision to ShopHQ: A Brief History
ShopHQ didn’t always go by this name. If you’re a long-time home shopping watcher, you might remember it as ValueVision, then ShopNBC. It was one of the three major players in live TV retail—next to QVC and HSN—broadcasting out of Minnesota since 1991.
For a while, ShopHQ (under its various names) was a big deal. Brands got their start here, and late-night shopping had an almost cult-like following. Through rebrands, bankruptcies, and buyouts, the network managed to keep the lights on longer than many expected.
Closure Announced: April 2025
But in April 2025, the story shifted for good. Internal memos, later confirmed by public statements, revealed that ShopHQ was “wrapping up operations.” The announcement came suddenly. People close to the company described it as “dimming the lights on the studios and… ceasing operations.”
If you flipped through channels that week, ShopHQ was already dark or running end-of-line clearance. For employees—many with decades in the business—the news hit hard. There wasn’t much fanfare or ceremony. Just an announcement, then the business started closing its doors.
What Happened to the Staff and Facilities?
You rarely think about how many people it takes to keep a shopping channel going. But ShopHQ’s shutdown affected a lot of folks. Their main facility was in Eden Prairie, Minnesota—a recognizable name if you’re from the region.
In January 2025, an early wave of 128 layoffs swept through. By late April, the Eden Prairie plant closed and another 72 jobs disappeared. Most of the employees got their notices within days of the shutdown, and a few were asked to help with the final clean-up.
Overall, the company shed more than 200 jobs in just a few months. If you talked to employees then, some had started hunting new work as early as winter, since rumors of financial trouble had been swirling since 2023.
Why Did ShopHQ Change Its Sales and Credit Policies?
When a business knows it’s about to close, a lot of things change quickly—especially for customers. On April 18, 2025, ShopHQ started making all sales final. No more easy returns or exchanges. They also sent out notices that their credit card program would end.
This move was a heads-up for people who liked ShopHQ’s flexible payment plans. Customers had to pay off their balances or find new financing options. Some only found out when they tried to use their store card and it didn’t work. Others received emails telling them the credit program had been discontinued.
If you missed the announcement, it might have felt abrupt. Many loyal shoppers expressed confusion on forums and Facebook groups, with some worried about product warranties or outstanding orders.
ShopHQ Tries Moving Online—But It Doesn’t Work Out
This situation didn’t happen overnight. You have to rewind to June 2023, when ShopHQ’s parent company, then known as iMedia, filed for bankruptcy. IV Media stepped in and took over, hoping for a big turnaround.
The strategy was to move from traditional TV to “social selling”—that is, shifting most business online and plugging into social media platforms. Think Facebook Live, Instagram drop sales, and influencer-driven events.
On paper, that probably seemed like the right play. After all, a lot of retail is moving digital. But ShopHQ ran into a wall. The company never gained much ground on the big online retailers and couldn’t break out of its older demographic. Hosting sales on new apps appealed to some, but old-school loyalists lost interest, and new shoppers just didn’t show up.
The hosts who’d built a following on TV had trouble grabbing attention in crowded digital spaces. The reality is, a TV shopping channel can’t just “become” Amazon or make up lost ground because TikTok is having a moment.
The TV Carriers Pull the Plug
There was another problem in the spring of 2025—ShopHQ’s broadcast partners started dropping the channel. Big cable companies like Optimum and Spectrum canceled ShopHQ feeds, citing the end of traditional TV programming.
For many viewers, that was the moment when ShopHQ disappeared for good. People who’d tuned in for years suddenly found their channel number was blank. And once TV providers decided not to carry ShopHQ anymore, advertisers and paying partners dropped out, too.
The company tried shifting all its content to streaming and online. But the base wasn’t there, and without TV slots, ShopHQ lost its last bit of cultural presence. Some hosts moved on to podcasting or YouTube, but hardly with the same audience or stability.
Winding Down: Final Sales, Clearance, and Website Shutdown
By mid-April 2025, the writing was on the wall for customers and employees. The website pushed deep clearance sales, trying to move remaining inventory. Everything was marked final sale. Host messages and banners warned buyers that returns wouldn’t be accepted.
Around early May, regular shoppers noticed that shopHQ.com only showed a maintenance notice. There were reports that new orders suddenly couldn’t be placed at all. If you visited the website, it was basically a goodbye message.
The company told suppliers and show guests that all broadcast and online activities would be finished by July. The final wind-down included closing out any outstanding return requests and paying remaining vendors. For people following the story in retail trade publications, it looked like business as usual for a company shutting down—just faster, given how quickly TV shopping can become unprofitable.
Where Did Things Go Wrong?
It’s easy to ask, “Why did ShopHQ go under?” The honest answer: it was a mix of old TV habits, a failed online pivot, and a retail market crowded by giants. Home shopping isn’t what it used to be. Amazon and other big stores changed the way people shop from home.
ShopHQ tried to move into social media selling, but other companies were way ahead. They lost their TV spot at the same time as they bet on digital, so their core audience slipped away. Even with new ownership and restructuring, it just wasn’t enough to compete.
If you’re a business watcher or seller, this isn’t just about ShopHQ. It’s about how entire retail models can vanish almost overnight when technology, shopping habits, and money all shift together.
What Happens Next? Reflections on the Home Shopping Collapse
A lot of people who worked at ShopHQ are looking for jobs now—in broadcasting, distribution, product sourcing, or customer service. Some hosts and personalities have tried to spin off their personal brands into streaming. A handful of suppliers are chasing payments and figuring out how to offload returned or unsold inventory.
If you’re a home shopping fan, you might be wondering about the future. QVC and HSN still exist, but they’ve also had layoffs and are shifting toward digital. The audience that made shopping channels work in the ‘90s and early 2000s is aging, and new generations shop differently.
The shutdown also offers lessons for anyone thinking about retail, business pivots, or digital transformations. If you’d like more in-depth analysis of retail business shifts like this, check out guides on SeraBusiness.
ShopHQ’s closure marks the end of a weird, uniquely American niche—shopping TV as a kind of entertainment, not just commerce. But today, it’s mostly a footnote. The Eden Prairie campus has gone quiet, the hosts have moved online or retired, and the website will vanish entirely by July 2025.
If you’re a shopper looking for TV shopping deals, there are still a few options left. But for ShopHQ, after three decades of TV sales, it’s finally “all sold out.”