To some, the concept of the Long Tail may already be cliché. To others, it may already be passé. To most people, however, the concept is still alien—only a first-time read, perhaps on sites like this one.

The Long Tail principle is quite a new term in the lexicons of businessmen. It borrows from the statistical principle of the same name, which basically states that the distribution of lower-frequency or lower-magnitude items can usually outweigh that of higher-frequency or higher-amplitude items. Translating to simple business terms, you will earn more from selling the more obscure or cheaper items at volume than selling a few bestsellers at high prices.

For retail companies, this means popular items are good. But one can earn better by selling lots of obscure, niche-oriented items, which more people tend to seek out and purchase.

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  1. UK Company Blog » The Long Tail in web applications

    05|Mar|2006

    [...] The Long Tail principle, which we earlier wrote on, says that businesses could earn more from aggregating the obscure, niche items rather than focusing on sales of the more popular or more expensive item. This concept heavily borrows from statistics, and hence there is indeed a high likelihood of a successful business consolidating the small items. [...]


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