Product variety increases faster than shelf space. The growing variety of products results in higher operating costs, more frequent discounts and loss of economies of scale. Therefore, frequent optimization of the assortment is essential to ensure long-term success in an extremely competitive and variable commercial environment.
Offering a deep assortment leads to many products within a category. On the other hand, a vast assortment, is the strategy to have one of each category, with a minimum specialization. To attract new consumers, outside their main target, you can rely on an optimization in jargon called “scrumbled”. By using the decision tree grouping, optimization software can effectively balance the width and depth of the shelf based on how customers buy both at the cluster and single-point level.
.