The Long Tail

Chris Anderson, editor in chief of Wired, examines how the internet, by easing the shelf limits of physical stores, changes what sells. He argues that items in low demand, each selling in small numbers, can together match or beat the handful of hits at the head of the demand curve, as long as the store or channel is large enough. The book grew out of his Wired article on the idea and applies it to industries from toys to advertising to kitchen appliances, setting out rules for doing business in a long tail economy. The Financial Times and Goldman Sachs shortlisted it for their Business Book of the Year Award.

Haier Group chief executive Zhang Ruimin was reported to have said in a 2009 interview that Anderson's ideas were helping Haier move from traditional manufacturing toward information-based services.