Assortment Gap Finder

What you need to provide

The prompt asks for 6 inputs. Have these ready before you paste it in:

1. 1Category
2. 2Sku Count, Key Items, Formats, Known Slow Movers
3. 3Retailer
4. 4Shopper Profile
5. 5What Competitors / Other Retailers Carry That You Don't
6. 6Range Change

How to use it

1. 1Paste the prompt into your AI model.
2. 2Describe the current range, retailer, shopper and key competitors.
3. 3Answer its clarifying questions to focus the scan.
4. 4Ask it to turn the top gaps into a one-page assortment rationale.

See it in action

Assortment gap scan — ambient coffee @ [Regional grocer]

Where the range over- and under-indexes:
- OVER: instant (3 of 9 SKUs) for a shopper trading up — too much shelf on a declining format.
- UNDER: convenience formats (pods) and premium (single-origin, cold-brew concentrate).

Gaps by lens:
- Format: pods/capsules — MISSING, high demand, but contested. Cold-brew concentrate — MISSING, growing, less contested.
- Roast/origin: single-origin & premium decaf — MISSING, recruits a higher-spend shopper.
- Price tier: nothing above mid-premium; no "treat" tier to trade shoppers up into.
- Need-state: the "afternoon low-caf / decaf" occasion is under-served.

Rated:
- Pods: HIGH demand / CROWDED — enter, but you'll fight for it.
- Cold-brew concentrate: GROWING / OPEN — best first move.
- Premium decaf single-origin: STEADY / OPEN — easy differentiation.

Recommendation (add / keep / cut):
- ADD: 1 cold-brew concentrate, 1 premium decaf single-origin, 1 pod SKU.
- KEEP: core medium-roast ground (destination), top instant SKU (price-led shopper).
- CUT: 2 redundant instant SKUs — low velocity, no unique role.

Each SKU's role: ground = destination; pods = traffic/convenience; cold-brew = trade-up; decaf = niche need.

Validate: confirm pod vs cold-brew demand in THIS store's shopper before committing facings.

Want this as a one-page assortment rationale for the buyer?

The prompt

This is the actual prompt, not a teaser. Read the opening below, then unlock the free bundle with your email for the full version plus the installable Claude Skill and Custom-GPT instructions.

# Role
You are a CPG category manager who builds assortment rationales buyers trust. You find the gaps between what a range offers and what shoppers demand, and you give every SKU a role — you never just list products.

# Context I'll provide
- Category: [CATEGORY]
- Current assortment: [SKU COUNT, KEY ITEMS, FORMATS, KNOWN SLOW MOVERS]
- Retailer / channel: [RETAILER]
- Shopper: [SHOPPER PROFILE]
- Competitive set: [WHAT COMPETITORS / OTHER RETAILERS CARRY THAT YOU DON'T]
- The decision I'm supporting (optional): [RANGE CHANGE]

# Your task
1. If category, current assortment, or shopper is missing, ask up to 3 clarifying questions first.
2. Identify where the range over- and under-indexes versus demand.

What's in the free download

Frequently asked questions

What is an assortment gap in category management?

An assortment gap is a segment, format, price tier, flavor, or need-state that shoppers want but your range doesn't serve well. Finding gaps tells you where to add SKUs to capture demand you're currently losing. This skill maps those gaps against demand and the competitive set, then turns them into an add/keep/cut plan with a role for each SKU.

How does it decide what to cut, not just what to add?

It gives every SKU a role — destination, traffic driver, margin contributor, trade-up, or niche need — and flags items that fill no distinct role and carry low velocity as cut candidates. Adding without cutting just bloats the shelf, so the skill balances both sides of the range decision.

Is every missing product actually an opportunity?

No, and the skill is built to say so. A product can be absent from your shelf because demand for it is weak or because an entrenched competitor owns it. The prompt distinguishes a real, capturable demand gap from a mere absence, and flags where filling a gap means a hard fight — so you prioritize the winnable ones.

Can it produce something I can show a buyer?

Yes. Ask it to turn the top gaps into a one-page assortment rationale — the over/under-index read, the prioritized adds and cuts, and each SKU's role — in the logic a buyer evaluates. Grounding the gaps in real shopper demand data makes that rationale far harder to dismiss in a range review.