What is an assortment?

An assortment is a selection of different products or items that are grouped together to satisfy the needs or interests of a target group of consumers. A range can be made up of products from the same category, such as a range of wines, or products from different categories, such as a range of beauty products or gardening products. Assortments are often proposed by shops to make it easier for consumers to shop and discover new products.

Different types of assortment

There are currently several types of assortment, which describe the way in which products are organised in a shop or company:

The basic products assortment

A basic product assortment is a selection of products considered essential or frequently used in a certain sector of activity. These may be basic necessities, such as food and medicines, or everyday consumer goods, such as clothing or electronics.

An assortment of basic products is generally used as a benchmark in assessing market trends to determine consumers’ real needs.

The assortment of complementary products

Complementary products are products that are associated with other products, but which are not essential. Examples include fashion accessories, toys and books.

The assortment of branded products

These are products manufactured or distributed by a recognised brand. These products may be of superior quality, but are often more expensive than generic brand products.

An assortment of seasonal products

Seasonal products are those that are offered according to the time of year, for example, Christmas toys or Halloween decorations.

The assortment of promotional products

These are products that are temporarily discounted, often to clear excess stock or to attract more or new customers.

Why do companies offer assortments?

There are many reasons why companies offer assortments.

Offering a wide variety of choices

By offering a range of products, a company is able to satisfy the various demands and preferences of its customers. This is a very important point for sectors with a varied choice of suppliers.

Meeting specific needs

When a company offers a range targeting specific needs, it can stand out from its competitors and attract new customers. For example, a company that offers a range of organic products may be more attractive to consumers who are committed to the environment.

Optimising sales

If a company offers an assortmentof products that complement and/or combine each other, the company can encourage its customers to buy several products at once. This will boost the company’s sales.

The stages in creating an assortment

Establish assortment objectives

The first step in creating a assortment is to determine the commercial objectives that the assortment should help to achieve.

Analysing customer demand

Secondly, it is important to understand customers’ preferences and needs in order to select the products that will be included in the assortment. This can be done by carrying out satisfaction surveys, analysing sales data, etc.

Study competition

Before creating the assortment you want, you need to find out what your competitors are offering, so that you can differentiate and stand out from the crowd.

Determine the strategy to adopt

The next step is to decide on the type of assortment to be set up, the level of depth and the surface area allocated to each product category.

Select products

Depending on the strategy adopted, the next step is to select the products to be offered, taking into account all the parameters mentioned above, that is to say customer demand, what competitors are offering, profitability, availability, etc.

Organising the assortment

The company then decides how the products will be displayed and arranged, depending on the sales area for example.

Assortment monitoring

Finally, it is essential to implement performance indicators to measure the effectiveness of the proposed assortment and make any necessary changes.