In a method and apparatus for connecting an e-shopping facility such as an
e-concierge station or an e-service or an e-merchandise provider
including a custom software, with an e-shopping appliance, such as a
television interphone monitor or a shopping terminal, or a television
receiver including central processing unit and a memory, via a
communication network such as a private network, public network or the
internet and through an interface unit, wherein e-shopping tenant
software programs complementing the custom software of the e-shopping
facility are installed into the memory of the central processing unit
which enables the central processing unit to select and process orders
for e-service and/or e-merchandise on the basis of the installed tenant
programs. A shopping signal of a compiled order is generated and
propagated between the shopping appliance and the interface unit and
processed through the interface unit. An interfaced shopping signal is
then communicated between the interface unit and the e-shopping facility.