twelfth · Glossary · Category management
Range review
A range review is the periodic decision about which lines to add, keep or delist in a category, typically made once or twice a year.
What it means for retail and category teams
In practice it is where a year of evidence is spent at once: sell-through, margin, supplier terms, competitor moves, space and shopper feedback. Buyers and category managers assess each line's contribution, propose additions and delistings, and negotiate the result with suppliers. The outcome informs the next range and promotional plan.
Why it matters
A range review locks in the category's shape until the next one, so its quality depends on evidence captured as it happened rather than reconstructed the month before. Teams that only look at the data at review time tend to repeat the last review, because they cannot tell a weak line from one that was out of stock, badly placed or under-promoted.
Illustrative example
The business and figures are illustrative, not customer data
Before a spring review of chilled desserts, a category manager lists every line below a set sales threshold. One looks like a clear delist, but its history shows it was out of stock for five of the last twelve weeks after a supplier issue. It stays in the range while availability is monitored, and two lines with full availability and weak sales are delisted instead.
Related terms
Related on twelfth.ai
- twelfth for buyers
An early read on new lines, timely signals on emerging winners, and clearance ranked by the cost of waiting.