Assortment and Merchandising Strategy

Demonstrating how retailers can tap into shoppers’ needs for variety without increasing complexity and stress, this innovative book combines cutting-edge research with hands-on, practical frameworks.

Experts in the retail sector have long been convinced that small assortments are more appealing to shoppers than large selections of products; in other words, less is more. However, the human brain has an innate need for variety.

Addressing this challenge Constant Berkhout offers practical merchandising guidelines both for stores and online retailers. Indeed, studies show that it is not the actual size of assortment that drives traffic to online stores, but the perception of assortment variety. The author illustrates how decisions around assortment and visual merchandising must be made in conjunction with each other, rather than separately, and provides a step-by-step plan to do so.

Grounded on shopper needs, emotions and behaviours that apply to both online and brick-and-mortar stores, this book integrates assortment and merchandise thinking and takes a human and shopper perspective. With practical frameworks that can easily be implemented in real-life situations along with examples from a number of retail sectors, Assortment and Merchandising Strategy provides a deeper and much-needed understanding of how shoppers process information, and the strategies that retailers must adopt in order to satisfy and retain their customers.

The book 'Assortment and Merchandising Strategy' provides answers to questions such as:
- How much will revenue grow when I increase the amount of space for products?
- How can I reduce assortment size without negative impact on category sales?
- What is the definition of shopping mission and how does shopping mission impact assortment variety?
- How do shopper decision strategies influence the composition of assortment?
- How can I merchandise products so that it becomes more attractive and easier for shoppers to search and select their favourite products?
- How can I identify the shopper decision tree when there are little data available?
- What is the difference between a shopper decision tree and visual search tree?
- How can I transmit the desired retail brand image through assortment and merchandising tactics?
- What does a good assortment and merchandising plan look like?
- What are universal merchandising principles?
- How can I select the type of merchandising for each category following a structured approach?
- In which manner can retailers tailor their communication by considering System 1 and 2 thinking?
- How will shopper decision-making change as a result of voice-based search and assistance?

This is what others said about the book:
'Berkhout offers visionary shopper-focused solutions to tackle this so called assortment anxiety.' - Ari Akseli, President Grocery Trade @ Kesko

'This book provides a comprehensive yet easy-to-read account of current knowledge related to assortment and merchandising decisions.' - Els Gijsbrechts, Professor of Quantitative Marketing @ Tilburg University

'Berkhout does an amazing job bringing simplicity and clarity to the complex and often debated world of assortment and merchandising. He not only makes it relevant in the still large world of physical stores but also in the new and emerging digital world of online shopping.' - Bob Nolan, Senior Vice-President @ Conagra Brands

'Constant Berkhout created a guide to successfully manage the ‘magic cube’ of complex assortment, simplified presentation and solid merchandising, offering all elements to create value by successfully optimizing the shelf space available for shoppers of numerous categories.' - Eric van der Hoeven, Vice President @ Danone

'Very comprehensive in its coverage, this book is all about integration: assortment with merchandising, online with offline, insights into shopper psychology with economically viable retail strategy. It is based on solid research but written for the practitioner with plenty of visuals.' - Koen Pauwels, Professor @ Northeastern University, BI Oslo and VU Amsterdam

'Berkhout introduces a number of useful frameworks that help brand managers, category managers and retailers assess the context in which they are competing, identify different pathways for action and make reasoned choices.' - Oliver Koll, Professor of Marketing @ University of Innsbruck

'Best practices from Berkhout’s vast retail experience and the wealth of academic insights on shopper decision-making make this book an essential handbook on assortment and merchandising.' - David Moore, Member of the Board @ SPAR International