Domestic home-shopping channels are grappling with a prolonged business slump as the number of people watching television decreases and middle-class consumers spend less due to soaring inflation and rising interest rates, industry officials said Thursday. According to the Korea Communications Commission, Koreans average TV usage time on a daily basis increased briefly to 3 hours and 9 minutes in 2020 during the pandemic. However, it decreased again to 3 hours and 3 minutes in 2022 after the pandemic was declared to be in an endemic phase here.