Range reduction opens up new opportunities
Customer insight helped a Latin American wholesaler cut up to 44% of its range while retaining almost all sales and uncovering a R$3.6 million private label opportunity.
26–44%
SKU reduction
92–99%
sales retention
$3.6 million
incremental opportunity identified for Private Label
A lack of evidence was holding the business back
A large grocery wholesaler in Latin America wanted to simplify its range without losing sales. But with no structured way to assess which products customers treated as interchangeable, the business couldn’t confidently decide which to cut.
Internal discussions were going nowhere
Conversations on SKU reduction kept stalling. Because there was no customer behaviour data to back up decision-making, debates over which products to keep or remove were subjective and rarely led to action.
A proof of concept settled the debate
Leadership questioned whether customer insight tools designed for traditional retail would even work in a cash-and-carry format. To test this, dunnhumby ran a proof of concept across select product categories.
Most of the range was redundant
Across the categories tested, many products were interchangeable in customers’ eyes. Where brand wasn’t a key driver of choice, we identified a clear opening for the retailer’s own-label products to step in.
Less overlap delivered stronger results
The wholesaler cut 26–44% of SKUs across categories while retaining 92–99% of sales and covering 100% of customer needs.
A reusable decision-making framework
The proof of concept gave the wholesaler a clear, evidence-based framework for making future range decisions across both consumer and business shoppers.
Less can be more with the right insights
Reducing choice isn’t always a negative. Done right, it enables retailers to hone in on the products that generate the highest revenues and repeat custom.
