Compare assortment decisions using space, margin, and availability
A RUSA case study for retail and e-commerce teams, connecting SKU sales, store clusters, shelf allocations, product costs, and inventory snapshots for retail assortment and shelf productivity.
Gross margin per shelf metre
Sales per stocked SKU
Inventory turnover
Stock availability rate (%)
THE CHALLENGE
Assortment decisions rely on sales rankings without shelf and stock context
Overlapping offers
Discounts cannot be attributed consistently to a promotion.
Missing cost context
Sales reports omit product cost and funded discounts.
Delayed returns
Returns occur after the promotion reporting window.
Stock constraints
Promotion performance is reviewed without product availability.
THE SOLUTION
Retail Assortment And Shelf Productivity Review Framework
Store clustering
Apply explicit rules for overlapping promotions and discount funding.
Margin calculation
Connect net sales, product costs, and allocated discounts.
Return linkage
Attach returned items to the original promotional sale.
Availability context
Review promoted stock and sell through alongside margin.
THE APPROACH
Store Cluster Formation
Assign each sale to active offers using store, product, trading date, and approved overlapping-offer rules.
Discount Funding Allocation
Separate retailer-funded discounts from supplier contributions and document allocation across stacked promotions.
Promotional Cost Matching
Attach effective product costs to promoted order lines before calculating net sales and gross margin.
Late Return Attribution
Display stock availability beside sales so absent inventory is not interpreted as low customer demand.
Space Productivity Calculation
Compare gross margin and sales with allocated shelf metres using matched trading periods.
Assortment Trial Review
Develop testable range-change proposals and assess margin, availability, and customer response before broad rollout.
THE IMPACT
Fairer comparisons
Similar store clusters could support useful range reviews.
Space visibility
Margin could be considered alongside shelf commitment.
Demand context
Stock absence could be distinguished from slow sell through.
Range traceability
Teams could review performance before and after range changes.
Controlled review
Authorized teams could review low-productivity ranges and unavailable high-margin products, with source evidence retained beside the review case.
Measurable evaluation
A pilot could establish baseline values for gross margin per shelf metre and assess changes after approved actions. Assortment changes would require commercial review and testing; sales rankings alone would not justify delisting.
Explore Retail Promotion Profitability
Work with RUSA Analytics to connect sales lines, promotion calendars, product costs, discounts, and returns and create a governed workflow to review loss-making offers, overlapping discounts, and constrained promoted items. Start with a scoped concept or pilot and agreed success measures.
MORE WORK
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