Assortment gaps occur when there are missing or suboptimal products within a retailer’s product lineup. These gaps can involve completely missing items (missing SKUs), the wrong product sizes (pack-size inefficiencies), or overlooked consumer preferences that reduce sales potential. Identifying and correcting assortment gaps helps ensure that the right products are available, in the right formats, for the right customers.

For example, let’s say a brand offers a popular beverage in 12-pack and 24-pack formats, but not a single-serve option. If data shows high demand for grab-and-go beverages in a particular region, the lack of that single-serve SKU may represent an important opportunity that’s being missed.

Why assortment gaps matter in retail and brand strategy:

• Lost revenue: Items that shoppers want but can’t find mean lost sales for retailers and missed growth for brands.
• Competitive disadvantage: Competitors that meet shopper needs more completely may win shelf space, loyalty, and wallet share.
• Poor category performance: Unbalanced assortments can lead to wasted shelf space or declining category metrics, making the retailer less likely to restock certain products.
• Inaccurate consumer understanding: Without addressing assortment needs, it’s difficult to respond to how real people shop and behave.

This is where tools like Numerator can help. With its ability to analyze real shopper receipts across retailers and channels, brands can spot trends in purchase behavior, visualize missing SKUs, and evaluate pack-size optimization opportunities. However, knowing where to look and how to interpret that data requires more than a few clicks.

Ultimately, assortment gaps matter because they reflect how well (or poorly) a brand is meeting shopper needs at the shelf. And with today’s increasingly competitive market, getting assortment right is critical to driving growth and improving the customer experience.

Numerator is a powerful DIY market research platform that provides detailed consumer behavior data – but for many teams, interpreting that data to find assortment gaps is where challenges begin. The platform offers a rich stream of shopper insights, but transforming dashboards into decisions isn’t always straightforward.

Top challenges companies face using Numerator for assortment gap analysis:

1. Difficulty filtering the right signals from all the noise

Numerator’s dashboards provide access to a wide range of variables – from brand-level data and purchase frequency to competing product comparisons. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the volume of data or distracted by metrics that don’t align with your actual business question. Teams may struggle to isolate meaningful SKU-level trends or understand how they connect to actionable assortment decisions.

2. Misinterpreting missing SKU or pack-size data

One of the most common mistakes occurs when a product doesn’t appear in the data and teams assume it’s not important. In reality, it might be underrepresented due to retailer distribution, regional availability, or other nuances. Without expert review, it’s easy to misclassify a whitespace opportunity as a non-performer. Similarly, pack-size research may be misread: a large pack performing well doesn’t always mean a small pack should be removed – shoppers may want both for different occasions or needs.

3. Lack of contextual knowledge to drive decisions

Numerator data shows what is happening in shopper behavior, but not always why. That’s where experienced consumer insights professionals make the difference. By layering in context – market dynamics, category trends, retailer nuances – On Demand Talent can help avoid misaligned decisions or poor assumptions about category performance. Without this lens, DIY analysis may miss the bigger picture.

4. Resource constraints and time pressure

Many insights teams are stretched thin. Even with access to a DIY platform, they may not have the bandwidth to dig deep, cross-reference data trends, or build cohesive recommendations. Often, results are rushed – leaving gaps in the research that undermine the final conclusions.

5. Limited experience with retail analytics tools

While Numerator is user-friendly, mastering its full potential takes training and experience. Filtering across demographics, retailers, brands, and regions takes both technical and analytical fluency. On Demand Talent from SIVO can be a valuable bridge – supporting your internal team, while also building skills and helping make better use of your DIY tool investment.

If your team is running into roadblocks, you're not alone. Building strong assortment insights from DIY tools takes more than access – it takes clarity, context, and a human layer of understanding. That’s where bringing in external expertise can help sharpen your recommendations and get you to decisions faster.

DIY shopper research tools like Numerator have made consumer behavior data more accessible than ever before. For many growing insights teams, the appeal is clear: quick access to dashboards, customizable reporting, and lower costs than full-service research. But while the platform is powerful, interpreting its data without expert eyes can lead to missteps—especially when identifying assortment gaps such as missing SKUs and pack-size opportunities.

In many cases, teams rely on Surface-Level Data Interpretation. It's easy for users to pull sales data, frequency of purchase, and share metrics, but harder to understand what these trends truly mean. Is a drop in volume really a decline in shopper interest—or is a key pack-size missing from the shelf?

Another common scenario involves Data Overload. Numerator's platform offers deep visibility into panel-based consumer behaviors, but this richness can overwhelm teams that don’t specialize in retail analytics. With so much data at their fingertips, teams can lose focus on real business objectives and draw conclusions that don’t match the market reality.

Even more problematic is the lack of Contextual Knowledge. Numbers don't speak for themselves. For example, if a certain SKU underperforms, a seasoned insights professional might recognize that it's due to a recent distribution change or competitor promo—not a true decline in appeal. Without this context, decisions about cutting or expanding items can miss the mark.

In short, these DIY tools are only as effective as the strategy behind them. Without the experience to design the right queries, apply the appropriate filters, and interpret the nuances of consumer data, even well-intentioned teams can make inaccurate or incomplete decisions.

Some signs of trouble with DIY-only approaches:

• Inconsistent or conflicting insights across teams
• Questions lingering on root causes of shelf gaps
• Difficulty translating findings into concrete retail actions

That's where a more experienced perspective becomes not just helpful—but essential. When paired with the right oversight, tools like Numerator can go from a data dump to a strategic asset that drives smarter product assortment decisions.

Some organizations assume that once they’ve invested in a powerful DIY tool like Numerator, their insights work is largely set. But the real competitive advantage comes from translating data into action. That’s where On Demand Talent steps in—bridge-building between platform capability and business decision-making.

Unlike piecemeal freelance help or internal team members stretched too thin, SIVO’s On Demand Talent brings a precise mix of specialization and strategic thinking to DIY research tools. These seasoned professionals don’t just extract numbers—they interpret them, challenge assumptions, and help companies unlock what’s truly actionable.

For example, an expert brought on for a product assortment project can dig into category-level data from Numerator to identify where assortments are over-saturated, which pack-sizes are underrepresented, or where white-space opportunities exist. They layer shopper insights and behavioral patterns across regions, retailers, and segments—offering tailored, brand-relevant recommendations.

Key ways On Demand Talent boosts the impact of Numerator research:

• Clarifying SKU and Pack-Size Gaps: Experts help determine if high-potential segments—like family-size packs or trial-size formats—are missing from the shelf and why that matters.
• Aligning Research to Business Goals: They ensure that assortment analytics stay focused on objectives like driving velocity, growing share, or addressing underperforming SKUs.
• Speeding Up Time to Insight: With years of experience behind them, On Demand Talent professionals quickly navigate dashboards, extract findings, and deliver results.
• Guiding Interpretation and Storytelling: They don’t just show charts—they tell clear, data-backed stories that resonate with stakeholders across marketing, supply chain, and retail teams.

Think of On Demand Talent as embedded guides who elevate the way your team uses its tools. Whether you’re exploring why shoppers are ignoring certain products or considering regional pack-size expansion, On Demand professionals deliver more than dashboards—they deliver clarity, confidence, and paths to growth.

Knowing when to tap into outside help can be the difference between spinning your wheels and driving real retail impact. While DIY tools like Numerator put data in your hands, they don’t replace the skill required to turn that data into specific, confident decisions. That’s where SIVO's On Demand Talent becomes a strategic partner.

So when should you bring in expert help to transform raw data into growth strategies? Here are a few clear signals it’s time to call in support:

Your data shows patterns—but not answers

If your team can see that purchase trends are shifting or that certain SKUs underperform, but can’t determine why or what to do about it, an insights professional can step in to connect the dots across datasets, shopper segments, and category dynamics.

Your assortment or pack strategy lacks direction

Say you're launching a new product and need to decide which pack-sizes to lead with, or you're seeing gaps in a core retailer's assortment. A domain expert can help prioritize opportunities based on demand, loyalty trends, or competitive benchmarking—turning reactive reporting into strategic foresight.

Your leadership wants clear, action-ready takeaways

Senior stakeholders don’t just want data—they want insights that lead to action. On Demand Talent translates complex dashboards into business-oriented narratives, spotlighting product assortment opportunities that teams can act on fast.

You’re facing turnover or have limited internal bandwidth

Whether you lost a key insights team member or just don't have enough hours in the day, On Demand Talent can step in quickly—within days—to keep your work moving. This flexibility is particularly useful for seasonal audits, SKU rationalization initiatives, or new channel expansions.

Sterile data on its own rarely leads to decision-making. But through storytelling, segmentation, and prioritization, experienced insights professionals turn platform output into forward-looking strategies that drive conversions, loyalty, and growth.

While no DIY platform can replace the need for human context and expertise, pairing Numerator with the right professional support gives you the best of both worlds—speed and strategy, flexibility and focus.