McIlroy--Where Are We Going On the Web?

The next factor is the commoditization of the product. A book is a book is a book. The major differentiation in book retailing in the last few years has been the scope of available inventory (hence the growth of the superstores) and price cutting (which every retailer has been forced to do).

Amazon.com moved into this space and was able to take advantage of inherent aspects of the Web to offer the widest possible inventory at competitively low prices (not necessarily the lowest). The company has been a runaway success from day one, and arguably is reshaping the entire publishing business.