Sortimentets

Sortimentet, in retail usage, refers to the total set of products that a retailer or producer offers to its customers. The term is often used in Swedish retail contexts, where it encompasses both breadth (the range of product categories) and depth (the number of variants within each category). The assortment is shaped by customer needs, channel, and strategic goals; it can vary by store format and geography and is frequently adjusted over time to reflect seasonality, trends, and supplier changes.

Effective management of sortimentet involves assortment planning, category management, and range optimization. Retailers analyze sales data, margins, stock levels, and space constraints to decide which products to carry, how widely to stock them, and when to introduce or discontinue items. The aim is to balance choice with profitability and to minimize stockouts and unnecessary inventory.

Key considerations include target customer segments, price positioning, supplier relationships, lead times, and channel strategy. Common metrics used to evaluate the assortment include breadth and depth, sell-through rate, stock turnover, gross-margin return on investment (GMROI), and fill rate.

With the growth of e-commerce and omnichannel retail, the concept of sortimentet has evolved toward dynamic or personalized assortments that adapt to customer data and location. Some retailers employ modular or category-managed approaches to ensure coherence across product groups and faster decision cycles.