Step Guide - Planned Assortment Changes

When you’re planning assortment changes, the key thing to focus on is intent.

This step isn’t about short-term activity. It’s about shaping how your category evolves over time—what stays, what goes, and what gets introduced to drive better performance.

Typically, you’re making four types of decisions.

You might be driving growth through innovation—bringing in new products to expand the category or attract new shoppers.

You could be adding new listings—taking products that already exist elsewhere and introducing them into this retailer for the first time.

Sometimes it’s about improving performance—updating packaging or format to increase rate of sale or margin.

And just as importantly, you’re removing underperforming products—freeing up space and improving overall efficiency.

The critical point is that these changes should be deliberate. They should reflect where the category is going—not just react to what’s happened.

A strong assortment plan builds a clear, forward-looking view of the business—where every addition and every removal has a defined commercial role.

Here are the key takeaways.