Download The Variety of Assortment: Can you choose to have choices?

The Variety of Assortment: Can
You Choose to Have Choices?
Customers prefer to have a variety of choices, and they prefer this variety
to be organized. Under these conditions, customers will be more likely to
buy more, enjoy their shopping experience, and return to the store for
future visits.
Hoch, Stephen J., Eric L. Bradlow, and Brian Wansink
(1999), “The Variety of Assortment,” Marketing Science,
Vol. 18:4, 527-546.
© Food & Brand Lab 2015
How Do People Perceive
Variety?
Top 3 reasons people choose to shop at a certain grocery store:
1. Location
2. Price
3. Variety
Why is variety important?
•  Shoppers would rather go to a store and find exactly what they want
•  Variety offers consumers options when they are uncertain in their purchases
•  People desire to consume different alternatives on different occasions
What influences variety perceptions?
1.  Total space devoted
2.  Number of SKUs offered
3.  Whether the assortment includes
the consumer’s favorite brand
Hoch, Stephen J., Eric L. Bradlow, and Brian Wansink
(1999), “The Variety of Assortment,” Marketing Science,
Vol. 18:4, 527-546.
Downside for grocery stores:
variety increases R&D,
manufacturing, distribution, and
sales costs
© Food & Brand Lab 2015
Do You Choose to Have Variety?
Major Findings:
•  Uniqueness of items is key: duplicates in an assortment decrease
perceived variety
•  People are more influenced by items that are close together
(adjacent)
•  During analytic processing, organized displays are perceived as
having more variety; during holistic processing, random displays
are perceived as more varied
•  People are more satisfied with and more likely to shop at stores
that are perceived as having high variety and being organized
•  Item sales are 3 times more sensitive to location than display
space (eye level, middle of display is best)
•  Close pairs of objects are more likely to be compared than pairs
that are farther apart
People are more likely to choose stores offering high variety and an
organized display
Hoch, Stephen J., Eric L. Bradlow, and Brian Wansink
(1999), “The Variety of Assortment,” Marketing Science,
Vol. 18:4, 527-546.
© Food & Brand Lab 2015
Learn the “Tricks” of Variety
Stores can design displays
to be more efficient and
lower cost without reducing
the variety
Increased
probability of
future store visits
by customers
Increase in profits
Customers can learn the “tricks” of variety and assortment so they do not
make biased choices based on the store’s environment
More variety
in the grocery
store
Increased
satisfaction
with grocery
store
Hoch, Stephen J., Eric L. Bradlow, and Brian Wansink
(1999), “The Variety of Assortment,” Marketing Science,
Vol. 18:4, 527-546.
Purchase
more
groceries
Have more
variety of
foods at
home
© Food & Brand Lab 2015
Increased
consumption
of food
Variety Show: What Else is There
to Know?
Check Out These Other Articles on Variety:
Hoch, Stephen J., Eric L. Bradlow, and Brian Wansink (2002),
“Rejoinder to ‘The Variety of an Assortment: An Extension to the
Attribute-Based Approach’” Marketing Science, 21:3 (Summer),
320-324.
“
The Influence of Assortment Structure on Perceived Variety and
Consumption Quantities,” Kahn, Barbara E. and Brian Wansink,
Journal of Consumer Research, 30:4 (March), 519-533 © 2004,
University of Chicago Press,
http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/JCR/home.html
To learn more about these tips and others that can
help you live a healthy life visit:
www.mindlesseating.com
http://foodpsychology.cornell.edu/
Hoch, Stephen J., Eric L. Bradlow, and Brian Wansink
(1999), “The Variety of Assortment,” Marketing Science,
Vol. 18:4, 527-546.
Created By: Lauren Faldet
© Food & Brand Lab 2015