Deciding which products and variants a retailer will offer for a market, store or sales channel.
Assortment planning establishes the product mix for a selling period and decides how that mix should vary between stores or channels. Planners consider assortment width, meaning the breadth of products offered, and depth, meaning the quantities or variants within that offer. Sales expectations and stock targets help turn the proposed mix into a workable plan. Once selling begins, actual sales and inventory performance are compared with the plan so the assortment can be reviewed. Choosing the offer is distinct from deciding how products should be arranged on a shelf.
In job listings
De Beers sought a Merchandising Manager in London to translate global merchandising guidelines into regional plans, overseeing assortment planning, inventory optimisation and category performance. The team would check the proposed mix of products against sales trends, customer insights and movements in stock. Search local jobs for “assortment planning”.
