Deciding which products and variants a retailer will offer for a market, store or sales channel.
Assortment planning establishes the product mix for a selling period and decides how that mix should vary between stores or channels. Planners consider assortment width, meaning the breadth of products offered, and depth, meaning the quantities or variants within that offer. Sales expectations and stock targets help turn the proposed mix into a workable plan. Once selling begins, actual sales and inventory performance are compared with the plan so the assortment can be reviewed. Choosing the offer is distinct from deciding how products should be arranged on a shelf.
In job listings
A buyer or merchandise planner may do this work under a different title. In a listing, look for what the role decides: which products, for which stores or channels, and whether it also holds responsibility for the budget. Search local jobs for “buyer”.
