Skip to main content

Assortment Size and Space

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Assortment and Merchandising Strategy

Abstract

With the rise of online, the role of assortment may have become more important for retailers than location and pricing. When it comes to assortment size, suppliers, retailers and shoppers have sometimes conflicting interests. Retailers need to consider shopper restrictions due to cognitive choice and visual capabilities. Solution could be assortment reduction and Berkhout gives many practical examples to make that work. Key to the solution is that the perceived assortment variety is more important than actual size. Finally, Berkhout discusses academic studies that show the limited impact of space elasticities and the effects of “white” space on product aesthetics.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Albers, S., Mantrala, M. K., & Shridhar, S. (2010). Personal Selling Elasticities: A Meta-analysis. Journal of Marketing Research, 47(5), 840–853.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bijmolt, T., Van Heerde, H. J., & Pieters, R. G. M. (2005). New Empirical Generalizations on the Determinants of Price Elasticity. Journal of Marketing Research, 42(2), 141–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boatwright, P., & Nunes, J. C. (2001). Reducing Assortment: An Attribute-Based Approach. Journal of Marketing, 65, 50–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borle, S., Boatwright, P., Kadane, J. B., Nunez, J. C., & Shmueli, G. (2005). The Effect of Product Assortment Changes on Customer Retention. Marketing Science, 24(4), 616–622.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Briesch, R. A., Chintagunta, P. K., & Fox, E. J. (2009). How Does Assortment Affect Grocery Store Choice. Journal of Marketing Research, 46(2), 176–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Broniarczyk, S., Hoyer, W. D., & McAlister, L. (1998). Consumers’ Perceptions of the Assortment Offered in a Grocery Category: The Impact of Item Reduction. Journal of Marketing Research, XXXV, 166–176.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, D. J. (1978). An Examination of Consumer Grocery Store Choice: Considering the Attraction of Size and the Friction of Travel Time. Advances in Consumer Research, 5, 243–246.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisend, M. (2014). Shelf Space Elasticity: A Meta-analysis. Journal of Retailing, 90(2), 168–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iyengar, S. (2011). The Art of Choosing: The Decisions We Make Every Day of Our Lives, What They Say About Us and How We Can Improve Them. London: Abacus.

    Google Scholar 

  • Iyengar, S., & Lepper, M. (2000). When Choice Is Demotivating: Can One Desire Too Much of a Good Thing? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(6), 995–1006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow. London: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rolls, B. J., Rowe, E. A., Rolls, E. T., Kingston, B., Megson, A., & Gunary, R. (1981). Variety in a Meal Enhances Food Intake in Man. Psychology & Behavior, 26, 215–221.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scheibehenne, B., Greifeneder, R., & Todd, P. M. (2009). What Moderates the Too-Much-Choice Effect? Psychology & Marketing, 26(3., Assortment Structure and Choice), 229–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, B. (2004). The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less. New York: Harper Perennial.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scrapehero. (2018). [Online]. Retrieved February 14, 2018, from https://www.scrapehero.com/many-products-amazon-sell-january-20198/.

  • Sethuraman, R., Tellis, G. J., & Briesch, R. A. (2011). How Well Does Advertising Work? Generalizations from Meta-analysis of Brand Elasticities. Journal of Marketing Research, 48(3), 457–471.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sevilla, J., & Townsend, C. (2016). The Space-to-Product Ratio Effect: How Interstitial Space Influences Product Aesthetic Appeal, Store Perceptions, and Product Preference. Journal of Marketing Research, LIII, 665–681.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Survata. (2017, December 20). [Online]. Retrieved September 30, 2018, from https://www.survata.com/blog/amazon-takes-49-percent-of-consumers-first-product-search-but-search-engines-rebound/.

  • United Nations. (2018, May 16). 2018 Revision of World Urbanization Prospects. [Online]. Retrieved August 1, 2018, from https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/2018-revision-of-world-urbanization-prospects.html.

  • Van Nierop, E., Fok, D., & Franses, P. H. (2006). Interaction between Shelf Layout and Marketing Effectiveness and Its Impact on Optimizing Shelf Arrangements, Erasmus Research Institute of Management, ERS-2006-013-MKT.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wikipedia. (2018). The Number of Photoreceptor Cells. [Online]. Retrieved February 18, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photoreceptor_cell.

  • Wiseman, R. (2007). International Experiment Proves Pace of Life Is Speeding Up by 10 Percent, Press Release British Council, Issued 25 March 2007.

    Google Scholar 

  • You, Y., Vadakkepatt, G. G., & Joshi, A. M. (2015). A Meta-analysis of Electronic Word-of-Mouth Elasticity. Journal of Marketing, 79(2), 19–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Berkhout, C. (2019). Assortment Size and Space. In: Assortment and Merchandising Strategy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11163-2_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics