Amid the hype, the truth about assortment trends in retail is somewhat less dramatic. Fact: retailers cut assortment a modest 1% in 2009. A smart move by grocers, because consumers often choose to take a walk, at great expense to retailers, if desired products aren’t on the shelf.

As retailers are trying to do more with less, are store brands exempt from consideration? While store brands turn a two-to-one profit (10% of assortment achieves 20% of sales), expanding in certain categories at the expense of branded products could actually hurt sales.