Retailers making assortment decisions based on outdated models risk losing revenue and increasing waste, such as unnecessary liquidations, expired perishables or simply the labor lost in managing too much inventory. Relying too heavily on historical data or manual clustering methods often results in product selections that don’t align with shifting customer preferences or real-time demand signals.Traditional approaches also struggle to balance financial and inventory plans, leading to overstock, stockouts and missed opportunities. Retailers need a clear plan for managing assortment planning, and AI is opening the door to more strategic retail planning in everyday activities. Let’s take a closer look at the challenges of outdated assortment planning, what optimized assortment planning looks like and why invent.ai is your best bet for measurable revenue growth attributable to assortment planning itself. 

Challenges in manual assortment planning

Outdated, manual assortment planning is full of challenges that can hold back growth and efficiency. Some of the most common issues include:

• Unreliable demand forecasting - Manual planning relies too much on past data, making it difficult to adapt to changing customer preferences.
• Manual store clustering - Many retailers still group stores based on outdated models, which leads to inefficient product distribution.
• Lack of integration with financial and inventory plans - Misalignment between assortment decisions and broader business goals results in excess inventory or missed sales.
• Slow reaction to market shifts - Without real-time data, retailers struggle to adjust their assortments when trends shift, leading to overstock or stockouts.
• Inconsistent localization - Store-specific needs are often overlooked, leading to a poor fit between product offerings and regional or even localized demand.

Retailers that embrace AI-driven solutions, i.e., invent.ai, can address these challenges head-on. With real-time forecasting and automated decisioning based on a handful of AI-powered insights that will lead to truly optimized inventory strategies, product selection becomes precise and responsive rather than reactive.

Stronger assortment planning with AI

AI-powered optimization helps retailers refine their assortment strategies and create better product mixes tailored to market needs. The same capability also scales, ensuring your regional plans aren’t thwarted by local demands and vice versa. Replacing manual processes with near-automated, data-backed decisioning eliminates inefficiencies and improves performance in retail through the following strategic capabilities: 

• Data-driven demand forecasting - AI models apply predictive forecasting to customer behavior and market conditions to predict demand more accurately. This ensures that the right products are available in the right locations, reducing stockouts and markdowns.
• Automated store clustering - Instead of relying on outdated store groupings, AI-driven clustering adapts to changes in regional demand, shopper preferences and store-specific sales patterns. This approach improves localization and maximizes sell-through rates.
• Seamless integration with financial and inventory plans - AI-powered assortment planning connects directly with inventory management and financial systems. This ensures that product selections align with revenue goals and operational needs, preventing overstocks and missed sales opportunities.
• Real-time adjustments - Retailers can continuously refine their assortments based on shifting trends. AI-driven recommendations allow for in-season adjustments, keeping stores stocked with relevant, high-performing products.
• Greater efficiency in decision-making - With AI handling much of the heavy lifting, retailers can reduce manual errors, save time and focus on strategy rather than tedious data analysis. The result is a more agile, responsive approach to assortment planning.

How invent.ai provides the solution

Invent.ai’s machine learning platform eliminates guesswork from product selection, allowing retailers to make data-backed decisions that align with customer demand and financial objectives. Retailers using AI-powered assortment planning can refine their product selection with real-time insights, improving efficiency and revenue outcomes. Ergo, invent.ai helps retailers create tailored assortments, optimize inventory turnover and streamline operations.

Precision-driven planning with AI

Invent.ai processes vast amounts of data, all coalescing into insight for revenue growth, anticipating market trends and keeping your assortment in line with customer behaviors. Together, planning and execution help you avoid costly missteps. This reduces excess inventory, increases full-price sell-through and improves category performance. Of course, even in the best of circumstances, a pricing change may be necessary, but if your AI platform is already considering the data–much like the invent.ai pricing solutions suite–you’re going to be in the best position for success. 

Automated store clustering and demand forecasting

By automating store clustering and demand forecasting, invent.ai enables retailers to adapt assortments dynamically. The platform provides real-time recommendations regarding what merchandise belongs where and why, helping retailers respond to shifts in consumer preferences and seasonal changes more effectively.

Optimized product selection and inventory turnover

Retailers using invent.ai typically see a 1-5% increase in revenue, a 5-10% boost in sales and a 4% improvement in inventory turnover. Those values wouldn’t be possible without insight into what product is going to do best at every location. The platform minimizes stockouts and excess inventory, ensuring that products move efficiently through the supply chain

Seamless integration and actionable recommendations

Invent.ai integrates with existing retail POS, supply chain management, planning and inventory systems, providing a clear and structured view of assortment performance. As a comprehensive suite of solutions built specifically for retailers, AI-driven recommendations help you make quick adjustments to maximize sell-through rates and improve future planning strategies. And with your ability to act on the data and recommendations within our AI-Decisioning Platform, you can finally stop the guesswork and follow the data. 

Real-time data and predictive modeling

Invent.ai continuously refines its recommendations using daily sales data, helping retailers make proactive, informed decisions. Post-season analysis provides valuable insights for refining future assortment strategies and ensuring continuous improvement. The same information can then be leveraged for more strategic planning and purchasing decisions for future similar season trends, too. 

Boost your retail success with invent.ai

Retail success depends on precision, speed and accuracy in every decision. Inventory that sits too long drains revenue, and stockouts drive customers elsewhere. Retailers using this technology move beyond static planning and into adaptive, results-driven decisioning. Stay ahead of shifting trends, optimize inventory movement and maximize revenue potential with data-driven strategies that evolve with your business.

Speak with an invent.ai retail specialist to put AI-driven assortment optimization to work for you.