Assortment is a word that can be used in different ways. As a noun, it can be the act and result of supplying (making a supply of something, sprouting).
For example: “I like this store because it has a very wide assortment of products,” “The town's anniversary will be celebrated with a variety of activities,” “The assortment of material available is immense.”
Assortment of products and articles
The concept of assortment, in this way, usually refers to the variety of items or products available in a commercial establishment. If someone claims that a market offers a large assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables , they will be pointing out that in said store you can buy different kinds of these natural products: apple, banana, strawberry, spinach, chard, etc. The greater the assortment, the greater the variety of options and, therefore, the greater the probability that the consumer will make a purchase.
Large supermarket chains, for example, allocate a large part of their resources to the organization and presentation of their assortment, since a high percentage of their sales depends on it. This organization of the articles has three fundamental objectives, which are the following: allow the consumer to locate the products easily; make administrative and commercial management simpler; avoid loss of time in the tasks of replacing items.
Ordering and classification
When it comes to locating a certain item in a store, or allocating space for an assortment, there are four main criteria that help achieve an adequate classification :
- Similarity : products that share raw materials, are manufactured following similar procedures, or are preserved and function in similar ways are grouped together.
- Of origin : this group includes items that come from the same geographical area or share the same designer or manufacturer.
- Of use : unlike the two previous cases, it is based on the consumer groups to which each product is aimed that the use criterion is applied. Also included are those items that can be considered complementary, or that serve to satisfy similar needs. For example, a USB key and an adapter to connect two USB devices into a single outlet, a plate and fork, a gardening shovel, and a bag of fertilizer are three examples of pairs of products that can be grouped according to this criterion.
- Differences : all those articles that, for various reasons, cannot be classified according to the previous criteria are allocated here. It is important to note that the similarity they may have to the store that places them in the same location is not always perceptible or reasonable for the consumer.
On the other hand, there are the following three concepts that serve to measure the assortment: breadth , which establishes the number of product families offered by the store ; depth , the number of specific products; length , the total number of items within a family.
Assorted as an adjective
The term can also be used as an adjective . In this case, it usually refers to the item that is marketed as a unit but that includes different products.
A package of assorted cookies , to name one example, can present chocolate, vanilla and quince sweet cookies. That is to say: in the same package there are different kinds of cookies.
Fuel supply
The device that allows the supply of fuel to a vehicle is known as a dispenser , on the other hand. Through this device, it is possible to fill the tank of a car with gasoline or another type of fuel , something essential for its movement .
Establishments that have fuel pumps are known as service stations or gas stations ; While in its origins clients had to be served by the entity's staff, today the self-service modality is more common.