Deepen or widen the assortment? How to bet right

Four types of assortment, which do you have?

Whatever you sell in your web shop and whatever industry you operate in, your product assortment can be categorized. At the base, an assortment can be either:

• Wide or narrow, when it comes to the number of product groups.
• Deep or shallow, when it comes to the number of products within each group.

That gives four combinations and "types" of assortment:

• Narrow and shallow, few product groups and few products in each group.
• Narrow and deep, few product groups but many products in each group.
• Wide and shallow, many product groups with few products in each.
• Wide and deep, many product groups and many products in each.

What kind of assortment do you have? Depending on which box you end up in, one direction, widen or deepen, may feel more natural.

Tip! Place your competitors, both current and potential, in the boxes. If a box becomes "full", maybe you should pick another direction? Or see it as a segment with big opportunities, explore how to break in and test.

Think base vs profile products

Beyond thinking in terms of "widen or deepen", it is good to be clear on your base and profile products.

• Which products are the core of your shop? You recognize them because they sell well, over long periods, and cause few problems, they are your base products and "workhorses".
• Your other products are probably less stable, but provide variety, attract customers and contribute to your brand. These are called profile products and complement your base products in different ways.

Once you are clear on which are your base and profile products, you can think from there: Do you want to deepen the range of your base products? Widen with more base categories? Or focus on profile products, either through more product groups or more items within existing groups?

Different ways to deepen or widen the assortment

You can grow an assortment by widening or deepening the offering of base or profile products. To make it concrete, here are some ways to do each, with examples.

You can deepen your assortment by:

• Selling B2B in addition to B2C, or vice versa. Selling only B2C today? Consider adding B2B by taking in more products in your categories. Some knife retailers, for example, sell knives only, but with a huge product depth (narrow and deep assortment) that appeals to both hobbyist and professional chefs.
• Offering products at more price levels. Expanding with products at different price points in each category can attract new customer types. A web shop with many price levels is Zalando, dress prices range from $10 to $1,000+.

Psst! Be careful with price levels if you have "low prices" or "exclusivity" as your focus, if changes are too big, you risk customers losing trust.

• Expanding the variants of your products. If you only have certain colors, materials and/or sizes, expand the number of variants to deepen the assortment. A sign maker that started in 2008 with plastic signs today also offers brass, aluminum and wood signs.

You can widen your assortment by:

• Adding complementary product groups. What additional needs do your customers have when shopping with you? Think about it and widen based on the answer. For example, add batteries if you sell consumer electronics, or expand with frames if you already sell posters and prints.
• Expanding product groups based on interest. Many product groups are connected without strictly depending on each other (unlike electronics and batteries). Often there is an underlying interest that links them. Adlibris (a major Nordic bookseller) has widened its assortment in recent years with new groups like crafts, toys and office supplies. Common denominator with books? Products focused on leisure and indoor activities.
• Adding product groups for B2B or B2C. As mentioned: selling only B2C today? You can add B2B. But that does not have to mean deepening current groups, you can also widen with new categories. Selling posters to consumers but also somewhat to businesses, you might add whiteboards.

5 things to consider before choosing a strategy

When expanding your shop you may see several "directions". So which (or which mix) should you choose? It depends on many things, including:

1. How much do you stand to gain from the new products? More orders or higher average order value, two possible effects of expanding the assortment, and the strategy you pick will affect the outcome. Do the new products give you a chance to reach new customers? Or are they mainly "complements" useful to existing customers?

2. What does expansion cost you? Expanding the assortment requires plenty of work, but how much depends on which products you take in. Smaller, lighter products do not strain inventory and packing as much, making them "cheaper" than large, heavy products.

3. What are you an expert in? It can be tempting to expand, especially widen, into unknown territory. But there are risks, and you are probably more likely to succeed if you start from your own knowledge of products and segments, you have better understanding of quality, price levels and how to market them.

4. Do the new products fit the business idea and brand? As we noted earlier, you cannot deepen or widen any which way: if the business idea is "consumer electronics at super low prices" customers will not be thrilled with pricier products. So always think about how new products fit your business idea and brand.

5. What competition will you face? Taking in new products means new opportunities, but also, in most cases, increased competition. Compare the competition for your options: is competition fiercest with a narrow-and-deep assortment, or wide-and-shallow?

How to succeed with the new products

Once you have decided on a strategy and come up with ideas for new products, what do you do? Test! And then hit the gas if the bet works. You do not want to build inventory without first knowing whether the new products will sell.

Test your new products

You probably know the "Notify me" feature that exists in many web shops. But did you know it can be used for more than sold-out products? A smart trick is to use it to gauge interest in new products: list products you plan to sell, but wait to take them in or produce them until you have seen the interest is large enough.

Also think about working with small volumes early, before you know whether the new products work. But also dare to experiment with "odd" products you yourself may not believe in, they may become bestsellers! A vacuum cleaner accessories shop widened from vacuum bags and nozzles to broader cleaning products, and what took off, surprisingly, was bra laundry bags.

Highlight and market the new range

After testing your new products it is time to either hit the gas or try a different strategy, depending on the outcome. If you hit the gas, just take in or produce more, make sure the new items get a great spot in your shop (work with "related products" to help customers spot them), and market them.

Go for it!