Having to deal with the disruptive forces of shrewd shoppers and increased competition is proving difficult for most companies. This is because these forces tend to impact the ability of a business to offer the right products at the right time, place and price. It is for this reason that most online retailers are now considering assortment planning if they are to determine the best product mix. Product assortment planning involves establishing the types of products that you wish to offer for sale.
With changes in technology, companies are now adopting a demand-driven and customer centerd assortment strategy in order to attract shopper traffic. However, not every company can get the most out of customer-centric assortment strategy. This is due to the fact that retailers are not evolving their assortment management strategies. To solve this issue, retailers have to carefully examine key factors such as market trends, brand identity, price range and category weight just to list a few.
Why Online Retailers Are Finding It Hard To Benefit from Their Product Assortment
Current trends seem to be affecting the product assortment profitability of many online retailers. Online Retailers who are not keeping pace with these trends may find it hard to cope with competition or attract new customers. To avoid losses, it is highly recommended that you make use of the current trends which are reinventing retail assortment planning. Some of the trends that retailers need to consider include:
- Reaching Out to Local and Global Shoppers
E-commerce has made it possible for consumers to access different market places with a simple click of a button. Local and global consumers can now access different services at any time that they may term appropriate. To keep pace with this new trend, you have to make use of a product assortment strategy which can serve both the local and global audience effectively. It is, therefore, appropriate that you consider using product assortment solutions which will help you in identifying the current trends.
- Shoppers Omni channel Expectations
With innovations in the digital and mobile sector, consumers can now shop at any time of the day. They, therefore, need Omni channel retail experiences in order to browse and purchase products online. Whenever an e-commerce shopper fails to find what they are looking for in online stores, they tend to feel disappointed. They are thus forced to shop elsewhere if they are to get the products. To get the most out of your assortment optimization strategy, you need to incorporate inventory channels, pricing and products across all the channels.
- Business Rivalry
No business can thrive without having to deal with the threat posed by competitors. To avoid getting into this situation, you have to carefully scrutinize the assortments of your competitors. You will then be able to identify the common and unique products which make your competitors superior or inferior. By making use of competitive analysis, it becomes easy to identify the gaps before making intelligent assortment decisions. By riding on the current trends, retailers can stick to their formula thus determining the types of products that customers want. Retailers should, therefore, fill their inventory with carefully selected assortment if they are to cover as much ground as possible