What is a store's assortment policy

When building an assortment policy, it is important to understand which assortment types you will deal with. Classification is possible by such criteria as breadth, depth, saturation and specialization. Each item format has its own specifics, expressed in management methods, structuring principles and other nuances. Breadth This metric denotes the total number of product categories and subcategories. The larger it is, the greater the target-audience coverage and the stronger the company's competitive position.

For example, a supermarket's assortment is broader than a small grocery store's, so its footfall is usually higher. An online electronics store offers products for the widest possible segment of buyers, whereas a dealer of a specific smartphone brand has a target audience many times smaller. By breadth, an assortment can be simple or complex: the former includes a relatively small number of categories and items, the latter offers the customer a much wider choice. It can also be grouped or expanded.

In one case the item master consists of products similar in purpose and specifications; in the other it includes the widest possible range of diverse products. Examples of assortment types by breadth

Depth This parameter denotes the number of items within a single product category. It affects target-audience coverage, customer satisfaction and sales growth. The greater the depth, the wider the segment of customers you can offer the product they need.

By this criterion the assortment is divided into two types: - type-based - the category consists of similar products with comparable characteristics; - brand-based - products of different types, but manufactured by the same company or belonging to the same line. Examples of assortment types by depth

Saturation This characteristic denotes the total number of all items in the assortment overall, taking into account breadth and depth. The more saturated the product range, the richer the choice offered to the customer, and therefore the higher the chance that a person will make a purchase in this particular store. It is important to remember that as saturation grows, so do the store's costs for purchasing, storage and logistics.

To minimize difficulties at every stage of the assortment policy lifecycle, you need not only experienced marketers, procurement managers, and logisticians, but also modern solutions, including technological ones. A number of operations can be automated, which reduces the risk of errors caused by inattention and speeds up data processing.

Such operations include: - collecting information on the current state of the assortment; - surveying users; - analyzing the market and pricing policy for individual products; - searching for the data needed to assess the prospects of expanding the catalog (for example, the number of manufacturers producing products with similar characteristics); - monitoring sales volume by category, individual product and the entire assortment.

Modern companies make active use of innovative solutions and technologies, including artificial intelligence. This can, for example, simplify the collection and analysis of the data needed to assess the competitiveness of the assembled catalog, product margins and other parameters.

Both at the initial development stage and during the management of assortment policy, problems can arise from a company's wrong approach. Excess assortment. Often this happens not across all products but within a single category: for example, an office-supplies store carries several hundred nearly identical notebooks but only a dozen types of exercise books.

As a result, customers who need a small notebook get lost in such a huge selection, while those who need to buy school stationery for a child are very likely to find that the shelf does not have everything they need. Superficial analysis. This mistake can lead to a range of unpleasant consequences, from higher purchasing and storage costs to excess buildup of slow-moving stock.

For example, a specialist assessing the profitability of adding eco-cosmetics to a household goods store's catalog may forget about the limited shelf life or the fact that such products require specific storage conditions in the warehouse. Dependence on other participants in the retail chain. Not every store benefits from working with several suppliers at once: many settle on one option.

As a result, assortment changes are driven not by customer needs but by the dealer's decisions, who may decide to drop some items and introduce others. For example, if expensive fruit and vegetables start appearing in the store, shoppers used to more affordable products may choose a competitor that monitors and adjusts its own catalog. Lack of attention to factors that affect demand and profit.

For example, for food products this may be seasonality, for accessories - fashion trends, and for electronics - the popularity of a particular brand or product line.