268 | Why I'm not a fan of assorted products with Katie Hunt
If you’re looking to develop a strong product line for your business, I highly encourage you to stay away from assorted products. While some brands can make them work well, I highly despise them. In today’s episode, I’m sharing exactly why assorted products can hurt your business and why you should consider discontinuing any assorted products in your product line.
Today’s episode is brought to you by our free Is Wholesale Right for You? Masterclass. During this class, I'll walk you through 12 questions to ask yourself to determine if your products and your business are ready to sell wholesale, plus I'll provide tips so that you can move forward with confidence in your next steps. Get access to this free masterclass inside our resources library!
What Is An Assorted Set?
As a product-based business owner, you may have considered or have already added assorted sets to your product line. An assorted set is when you take multiple designs and package them into one product or consolidated sku.
Why Assorted Sets Are Bad for Your Product-Based Business
While the idea of an assorted set makes sense from a consumer standpoint, from a business and logistical standpoint, I’m very much against them.
Assorted Sets Create an Inventory Nightmare
First, assorted sets create an inventory nightmare by using the same product in two different skus. When you're pulling from the same pool of inventory for two different skews, it becomes difficult to track what you have in stock. This becomes particularly challenging as your company scales and you start selling both of those skus in higher volumes. This could mean that you find yourself shorthanded on products due to selling too many singles in comparison to your assorted sets.
Assorted Sets Are Difficult to Package
It is tricky to showcase all of the different styles that you offer within an unsorted set, which makes them difficult to package. Consider when your product is boxed up and you can't see each individual item within the package—this may lead customers to assume they’re buying the design they can see. In my own experience, even if you put forth all the effort to distinguish the set, customers still won’t read.
Assorted Sets Force You to Compete with Yourself
When you offer assorted sets, you end up competing with yourself, which can limit your sales. Let’s break this down in an example using an assorted coaster set. If you have four different designs of coasters and a retail customer likes two of them. When you’re selling an assorted set, the customer only has to buy one box of coasters, versus buying one box of each design they like. Additionally, with the same example on the wholesale side, if you have a minimum order quantity of four and the shop owner like two designs, they simply need to buy four assorted sets to get what they like versus eight boxes (four of each set they like). When you sell assorted sets, you end up capping your own sales without even realizing it.
Assorted Sets Have Lower Profitability
Profitability is lower on sets of products in general, but even lower on assorted sets, because they take more time and effort to manage the process. The more complex a product is, the more time it takes for fulfillment and processing. Assorted sets fall into that complex product category because you’re pulling multiple products to package one product, which plays into profitability.
These are just a few of the reasons as to why I’m not a fan of assorted products. Remember though, this is your business. If your sets are selling strongly and you really like having assorted sets, then keep them! Keep in mind these issues that assorted sets provide so that you can find ways to streamline the inventory management process and increase your profitability.
Today’s episode is brought to you by our free Is Wholesale Right for You? Masterclass. During this class, I'll walk you through 12 questions to ask yourself to determine if your products and your business are ready to sell wholesale, plus I'll provide tips so that you can move forward with confidence in your next steps. Get access to this free masterclass inside our resources library!
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Connect with Katie Hunt
Katie Hunt is a business strategist, podcaster, mentor and mama to four. She helps product based businesses build profitable, sustainable companies through her conferences, courses and coaching programs.
Website: prooftoproduct.com | Instagram: @prooftoproduct
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