New capability helps manufacturers tailor assortments to local demand, with pilots forecasting an average 19% increase in client product sales per store
NielsenIQ, a leading consumer intelligence company, announced the U.S. launch of Shelf Architect Store Assortment, a new capability within the Shelf Architect platform. Designed for manufacturer teams, Shelf Architect Store Assortment provides store- and cluster-level assortment recommendations that reflect local demand and support retailer shelf execution.
Assortment decisions are often built around national plans and average-store assumptions, even though shopper demand varies significantly by location. Shelf Architect Store Assortment helps manufacturers address this gap with localized recommendations at the store and cluster level, creating more relevant assortments and stronger business outcomes. In pilots conducted across two retailers within a single category, the approach forecasted an average 19% increase per store in sales of the client’s products within that category.
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“Retailers execute assortment decisions store by store, and manufacturers need recommendations that work the same way,” said Martin Hernandez, Global Commercial Leader, Analytics at NIQ. “Shelf Architect Store Assortment helps clients sharpen decisions with store-specific insights, execute on the shelf with confidence, and uncover opportunities that broader market-level approaches can miss. The result is a more localized, execution-ready path to growth.”
Store-level assortment helps retailers create a more relevant shopping experience by reflecting the needs and preferences of shoppers at each location. By making it easier for shoppers to find the products, brands and pack sizes that matter to them, retailers can improve satisfaction, encourage repeat visits, and reduce the need to shop elsewhere.
“As we collaborate with our retail business partners, a key challenge for manufacturers and retailers remains: How do we ensure we are locally relevant while retaining scale within our key categories? The answer: store-level, micro-clustered assortment,” said a representative of a leading global manufacturer. “Our partnership with NIQ has taken us down a unique path to better understand the nuances of individual stores within their precision markets and provide a unique assortment to each store. We are starting small but expect huge results as we develop a means to scale the capability. NIQ is a tremendous partner with new capabilities and new ways of thinking.”
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Key benefits of the capability:
- Localized recommendations: Generate store- and cluster-level assortment recommendations tailored to local demand patterns, supported by predictive forecasting and transparent recommendation logic.
- Shelf-planning integration: Move from strategy to activation with execution-ready outputs that connect into downstream shelf-planning workflows, including Spaceman automation.
- Opportunity identification: Identify opportunities that market-level approaches may overlook, helping manufacturers build more relevant assortments, improve SKU productivity, and identify growth opportunities store by store.
