The Long Tail

This concept is essentially about moving from the mainstream to the obscure. In today's marketplace of limited shelf space, retailers are only able to provide what they consider to be the hottest best selling items at any given time. This leaves a huge segment of the merchandising field un- or under-exposed. The long tail is the combating force. Think iTunes: iTunes is completely digital. As such, they have unlimited shelf space for their product, digital music. They can offer the new release hits from major artists, but they can also provide access to unpublished, out-of-production music from decades ago, or from up and coming artists that would otherwise have been pushed aside. The same is true for Amazon and books and many other businesses out there.

The long tail works on a process of recommendation and desire. If a person happens to like such-and-such, they may also like this-over-here. By referring this way, people move down the tail from the high-selling popular to the long-lost and obscure. Alternatively, if someone is looking for a product that they can't find in stores because it's too old or too obscure, the long tail services can provide access.

This is a great direction for the modern marketplace. First, it's convenient. These services provide access in a moment to more products than a physical store could in a year. Also in this selection, and especially with music services, one can choose á la carte selections from otherwise bulky titles. Second, it's fast. You don't need to browse shelves. You type in your search and the system will find what you're looking for, and likely make suggestions of other items that you may like but would have otherwise overlooked. Third, it's portable. Most (all?) of these services are online, making it possible to carry the stores with you anywhere. This harkens back to point one, convenience, but takes it a step further. There's no longer a need to go physically to a store. You can shop from the bus, the office, home, or the beach and have the items sent to your location of choice.