Long Tail

1. What is the concept

Long tail is a new business strategy, having as a concept to sell items (generally entertainment related material such as CD's, DVD's, Books, etc.) that are less popular and don't belong to the mainstream hits. Thanks to the Internet, time and space, which are the two main characteristics for selling a good, play no longer a role in the commercialization of any product. The idea is that even if a product is sold in a very small quantity to a niche market, it will still have its place on the market and enable a company to make a profit from it.

2. How is it different than 'traditional' retail concepts?

It is different from traditional retail shops from the fact that long tail retailers don't have to pay any attention to the popularity of the product they sell. Time and space do not play any role , while selling or distributing a product. The idea is to make money with unique non-hit products. The products don't need to be stocked somewhere, since the Internet has a nearly infinite free stocking area, so these are costs that can be erazed by the long tail retailers.

3. Does the Long Tail concept fit in the 'customer in charge' environment?

Of course does it cross the concept of the customer in charge, because there are no more barriers between someones real interests and the hits brainwashed to the customers mind. The customer has the opportunity to follow what suits him the best, let his desirs run the way they want to and purchase the products they chose to buy.
For example even if advertising and other promotion material make a DVD stand out from other non hit-DVD's, the customer will still be able to look for a product that will provide him more satisfaction than the hit product. The idea is to give the customer the opportunity to buy a product only from the point of view of his exact wish and not through the theory of high and low demand, high and low price or any other standard economic purchasing system.