Cerebra

Amazon.com, much like Google.com, introduced the Web to millions of 'newbies' in the 90's. It was the gateway to their first online experience and made logical sense - why go to a store when I can get what want without leaving the comfort of my sitting room?

It didn't take users long to realise that not only did the Web offer the advantage of convenience, but variety was most definitely the spice of the online experience. Because online shops and e-Commerce sites have inventory that is not limited by physical space (like your local Musica or Woolworths) you can find items online that would take you forever to find in a physical store. All an online store needs to do is connect to other (perhaps more niche) online stores to expand it's stock and make sure the necessary logistics are in place to deliver the unique or rare item that would normally not be justified a place in a physical store to the customer. Enthusiasts will pay more and wait longer for that first edition comic, signed album, or limited edition T-shirt that they could not get in town.

This principle has been dubbed "The Long Tail" by Chris Anderson, a Wired magazine editor whose popular theory developed into a book by the same name. His original article on the subject can be found here and is well worth the read.

Tails aside, the social component of the new Web - referrals, ratings, recommendations, comments and more have had a monumental impact on the way people shop online. The power of word of mouth has been leveraged in the form of recommendations below items that the potential customer is viewing at any given moment - you know what I mean - "People who liked this also liked this", and people are so much more likely to buy from a fellow customer's referral than a monotonous advertisement.

It's going to be fascinating to see how the online shopping business evolves with the social Web in 2010 and beyond - I sense we've only just scratched the surface of possibilities.