The Long-Tail Theory

The long tail theory is a theory created by Chris Anderson and it is used to explain how distribution is now beginning to sell more unique items in small quantities rather than large amounts of main stream items.
Websites such as :
www.amazon.com
www.lovefilm.com
www.play.com
http://movies.sky.com/sky-movies-box-office
are websites that were once the niche market websites but now they are the mainstream. These type of websites have become increasingly popular alot more so than shops like HMV, Blockbuster and Zavvi. Many of these companies are now reducing in size as they are now the niche market. This has happened because these shops can't afford to stock both the niche and mainstream products because of costs for rent or shop space etc. Therefore websites such as Amazon have become more popular as they can stock both sets of itmes without any additional cost.

Chris Anderson