Steven Goldsmith had barely taken the chair as president of The Shopping Channel nine months ago when he asked whether the specialty channel could continue to grow, or was over-penetrated.

After all, the Rogers Media channel was popular with Canadian women, and profitable.

But market saturation would slow prospects for growth.

In the end, Goldsmith and his team discovered the Rogers Media channel was, if anything, under-penetrated.

“Our customers absolutely love us. And a lot of women don’t even know about us,” he explains.

To solve the awareness problem, the TV channel needed to introduce itself to a whole new audience.

What’s more, The Shopping Channel on Friday rolling out new mobile apps and on-air social media engagement as part of an overall rebranding goes a long way to explaining the digital curve the traditional TV channel is looking to get round.

Put another way, Canadian women had embraced the digital world, and The Shopping Channel wasn’t keeping pace.

“We didn’t have shopping apps. We did not have a great mobile experience. We did not have a great experience on a computer for her to watch us live,” Goldsmith recalls.

That was a big hurdle to overcome because home shopping is about making the buying experience easy.

And the rise of online shopping has upended the average Canadian’s shopping experience, creating new challenges and opportunities for multi-channel retailers.

So now the new TSC app for iPhone, iPad and mobile platforms will enable viewers to purchase products whenever, and wherever they choose.

And here what distinguishes The Shopping Channel from online retailers is the continued use of colourful presenters and pitchmen to urge audience to buy.

How does presentation give the TV channel an edge?

The Rogers Media channel is the biggest Canadian retailer of Brian Bailey sportswear.

“Only on The Shopping Channel can you see Brian Bailey fit the dresses to the women, show how many ways to wear them and how versatile they are,” Goldsmith insists.

So the channel head doesn’t care whether Canadian women watch The Shopping Channel on TV, online or on their smartphone 10 years from now.

“But I do know that the presentation of the product is the most important, and wherever she needs to consume it, that’s where we will make it available,” Goldsmith says.

The Shopping Channel revamp includes a new logo, with 3D design to complement the brand’s evolution, new on-air graphics and a newly-designed studio.

That includes a new chef’s kitchen for celebrity guests like Wolfgang Puck, Lynn Crawford and Mark McEwen.

The TV channel is also making more use of its star presenters by introducing weekly segments like Destination Style, Destination Beauty and Host Picks.

The Shopping Channel is also cutting back on on-screen graphics to accommodate social media interaction, as viewer tweets and comments are scrolled across the screen.

And the channel will make it easier for Canadian women to shop, as it reduces shipping costs for big purchases, and makes it easier to return goods.