The main reason behind Amazon’s success lies in the long tail paradigm that is now being exploited to its extremes thanks to the dematerialization of books.
In the physical world, there isn’t enough shelf space “to carry everything for everyone.” As a result, the industrial business era has been mostly about a small number of mass-produced-and-sold products, the “head of the long tail” (red part of the graph).
The digital era turns the tables on traditional thinking about supply and demand. We are moving into the (yellow) long tail of the curve. That is the world of infinite niches.
Back in the old days people had to hunt for books at local bookstores or order them through the internet and wait till they were delivered to their door.
But now they can:
- Click on a search engine on their Kindle, find the book they’re looking for, buy it with one click and read it immediately on their device. Wherever they are. At home. Abroad. With no hidden connection expenses nor subscription fees.
- Buy books in English at a fraction of the price normally levied at local european bookstores. Most Kindle books cost less than 9.95 dollars. Can you imagine that? That’s about 7 euro.
- Travel wherever with a small 8.5 ounce device that can carry up to 3.500 books.
