'Long Tail' Theory

Long Tail Theory

Chris Anderson, editor of wired magazine, in 2006 brought out a theory, This theory is that the internet has transformed the way we shop and explore the media. A good example of this is the uprise in sales of niche products.

'Niche' products are known for the being less popular products that people want to buy. When Frank Goes to Hollywood released their first albumin 1984, 'Welcome to the Pleasure Dome', it was a very popular album. You couldn't go into a main stream shop and buy it off of the shelves as it wouldn't be cost effective for the stocker. Due to the internet you could now buy this item from any of the popular online stores such as Amazon or Play.

Before the invention of Broadband shops will have only stocked blockbusters and best selling hits. Now that we are in the more developed age the internet allows us to freely browse products from a wider variety of stores with a wider variety of stock in what is known as a 'Virtual Warehouse'.

However, this will be affecting the high street. With more and more people shopping online the high street stores that haven't got a site on the internet are suffering losses due to Broadband convenience.