By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man – @tvanswerman
TV Answer Man, so I hear Netflix now has a store?! Are they trying to control the world? What do they sell? Subscriptions? At a store?!!! Do they have a Netflix store in Kentucky? — Seth, Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Seth, calm down. Netflix does have a store, but it’s not quite the kind you’re thinking about. Let me explain.
The world’s largest streaming service has opened an online store at Netflix.shop where you can buy apparel, trading cards, figurines, plushes, kitchen ware, and other items related to programs on Netflix.
For instance, there’s a $20 Love Is Blind golden goblet to commemorate the dating reality show; a $120 (!) Stranger Things polo shirt and $50 trading cards for fans of the upside down sci-fi series; a $29.99 ‘Eleven’ YouTooz figurine modeled after the Stranger Things character played by Millie Bobby Brown; a $32 Emily in Paris cookbook and $290 sunglasses inspired by the Lily Collins comedy series; Cobra Kai karate costumes; and even a Peaky Binders cocktail book with recipes best suited for the gritty characters in the London-based crime drama.
For just $20, you can drink in the romance with your own Love Is Blind golden goblet.
There are also show posters, Wednesday sweaters for Jenny Ortega fans, and something called a Squid Game Valentine Young-Hee Unisex Premium Sweatshirt. In Forest Green, no less.
We’re not sure if the store is intended to be a profit center, a tongue-in-cheek promotion for Netflix, or something in between. But the ecommerce connection to actual TV shows is a throwback to decades ago when Interactive TV was supposed to take over the world and everyone was going to buy Jennifer Aniston’s sweater. It didn’t happen then, but maybe Netflix can finally bring that promise to reality.
Click Amazon: See the latest 4K TV discounts!
After all, who wouldn’t want a $18 Bridgerton Macaron Gift Set?
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman
