# Assortment

An assortment is the set of products a retailer chooses to carry in a category, for the whole chain, a cluster of stores or a single channel.

Also called: range, product assortment, merchandise assortment

- **Is:** The set of products carried in a category, for the chain, a store cluster or a channel.
- **Decides:** Breadth (how many needs) and depth (how many options per need).
- **Watch for:** Near-duplicate lines that split demand and tie up space and cash.

## What it means for retail and category teams

Assortment decisions cover breadth (how many different needs the range serves) and depth (how many options within each need, such as sizes, flavours or pack formats). Many retailers localise the assortment by store cluster or channel, so an online range can run much deeper than a small-format store. Every added line competes for the same shelf, the same working capital and the same shopper attention.

## Why it matters

The assortment sets the ceiling on what a category can earn. Too narrow and shoppers leave to buy elsewhere; too broad and slow lines tie up cash, space and supplier time while splitting demand across near-duplicates. Price and promotion can only work on the lines the assortment includes.

## Illustrative example

The business and figures are illustrative. None of it is customer data.

A hardware retailer's paint accessories bay carries 14 roller sizes. Three sizes sell 78% of the units. Two specialist sizes sell 16%, almost all of it in a cluster of 12 trade-heavy stores. The other nine sell 6% between them. The team keeps the three core sizes in every store, ranges the specialist sizes only in the trade cluster, delists seven of the nine slow sizes, and uses the freed space for a tray-and-roller kit shoppers kept asking for.

**Paint rollers: share of units across 14 sizes**

- 3 core sizes: 78%
- 2 specialist sizes: 16%
- 9 other sizes: 6%

Three sizes sell 78% of the units. Nine sell 6% between them.

## Related concepts

- [Range review](https://twelfth.ai/glossary/range-review)
- [Category role](https://twelfth.ai/glossary/category-role)
- [Own label](https://twelfth.ai/glossary/own-label)
- [Cannibalisation](https://twelfth.ai/glossary/cannibalisation)

## Next step

### Bring a range decision to a demo

Use a live decision from your category: a line to add, a promotion to assess or a range to review. We can show how the evidence and decision record fit together.

- [Book a demo](https://twelfth.ai/book-a-demo)
- [twelfth for buyers](https://twelfth.ai/for/buyers): An early read on new lines, timely signals on emerging winners, and clearance ranked by the cost of waiting.

Source: https://twelfth.ai/glossary/assortment