Assortment & ranging in a multichannel context
Multichannel retailers are confronted with the challenge of assortment and ranging across their online and offline channels. What's the overlap between the merchandise mix offered online vs in the stores? There are signficant implications to the merchandising decisions because it affects the customer experience, synergy between what the consumer sees online and finds in the stores, the cross-channel capabilities that allow customers to buy merchandise online from store inventory etc. These are not easy decisions and affect issues that transcend people roles, responsibilities, metrics, business processes and technology integration.
