As the back-to-school 2025 season kicked off earlier than ever—with 67% of shoppers starting purchases by early July amid inflation and tariff pressures—retailers faced heightened planning challenges in a fiercely competitive market. Target and Walmart leaned heavily into promotions, while others struggled to balance demand shifts with margin protection. In this environment, assortment missteps can quickly lead to overstock, markdowns, and frustrated customers.
For many retailers, assortment planning remains one of the toughest challenges, especially during critical seasons like back-to-school and holiday, when the stakes couldn’t be higher. We consistently see retailers facing:
- Fragmented processes across financial, item, and space planning
- Misaligned assortments that disappoint customers and erode margin
- Technology solutions that don’t fully deliver or integrate
- Merchandising and planning teams working in silos
The result? Missed sales opportunities, costly markdowns, and customer frustration.
But there’s a better way. In our recently updated Expert Guide to Retail Assortment Planning, our experts share how leading retailers handle assortment planning as part of their end-to-end planning ecosystem — and why it’s a proven driver of margin, sell-through, and customer loyalty.
Access our experience-backed guide to start achieving better assortment planning results.
