Retailers need to stop thinking of a retail environment as a place to maximize SKU count. By definition, enormous quantities of SKUs are inefficient. The efficient retailers – Costco, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, for example – have limited SKUs. They target SKUs that are high turn and high velocity and justify the space they occupy. With ecommerce ability, retailers can deliver the slow-moving SKUs that are replenishment-based and unemotional. That opens up an opportunity that most retailers haven’t been good at – in-store theater.
 
John Rand
Senior Vice President - Market Insights
Kantar Retail
John.Rand@kantarretail.com