The Science of Assortment Planning: What Data Tells Us About What to Stock
Discover how data-driven assortment planning helps retailers stock the right products, reduce overstock, and boost profitability. Learn the key insights behind smarter inventory decisions.
In today’s fast paced retail environment, stocking the right products isn’t just a logistics task, it’s a strategic advantage. The difference between high-performing and underperforming businesses often comes down to one critical question: Are we stocking the right products? That’s where the science of assortment planning comes in
Why Assortment Planning Matters
Stocking too much of the wrong item leads to markdowns and waste. Stocking too little of the right item results in missed sales and disappointed customers. The goal of assortment planning is to find the sweet spot that maximizes revenue, customer satisfaction, and inventory efficiency.
What the Data Tells Us
Modern assortment planning relies on a blend of historical, real-time, and predictive data. Here’s what the data can uncover:
Consumer Demand Patterns
Sales history, web searches, and product views reveal what consumers are truly interested in. This helps retailers forecast demand by category, size, color, or style and align supply accordingly.
Geographic and Demographic Variations
What sells in urban London may flop in rural Wales. Data segmented by location and customer profile allows for tailored assortments that reflect local preferences.
Product Performance Metrics
SKU-level analytics show how each product is performing in terms of sell-through rate, margin, and returns. This helps identify hero products worth investing in and underperformers to phase out.
Competitive Benchmarking
Tracking competitors’ product ranges, launches, and pricing strategies helps position your assortment for differentiation or trend alignment.
Seasonality and Trend Cycles
Assortment planning incorporates both historical seasonal trends and emerging fashion cycles identified through social media, trend reports, and AI-powered forecasting tools.
Inventory and Supply Chain Constraints
Knowing lead times, production costs, and supplier reliability helps optimize stock levels without risking overcommitment or stockouts.
Leveraging AI and Automation
Retailers today are turning to AI-powered tools to make assortment planning more efficient and intelligent. These systems can:
- Analyze millions of data points in seconds
- Simulate different assortment scenarios
- Recommend optimal SKU combinations by store, season, or customer segment
- Predict future demand more accurately than traditional methods
Real-World Impact
Brands that leverage data-driven assortment planning have reported reduced inventory costs, higher sell-through rates, and stronger customer loyalty. For example, fashion retailers using market insight tools like Woven Insights can track assortment overlaps with competitors and uncover underserved niches to explore.
About Woven Insights
Woven Insights is a comprehensive market analytics solution that provides fashion brands with real-time access to retail market and consumer insights, sourced from over 70 million real shoppers and 20 million analyzed fashion products. Our platform helps brands track market trends, assess competitor performance, and refine product strategies with precision.
Woven Insights provides you with all the actionable data you need to create fashion products that are truly market-ready and consumer-aligned.
Click on the Book a demo button below to get started today.
