| Course | MT102 Principles of Retailing |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 4 |
| Paper type | Assortment plan |
| Length | About 860 words, 6 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MT102 Unit 4
Twelve Feet of Filters: A Unit 4 Assortment Plan for Glassmere Aquatics
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
MT102: Principles of Retailing
Unit 4 Assortment Plan
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Glassmere Aquatics, its assortment, shelf space and sales figures are composite and illustrative; the sources cited are real.
The Category and Its Space
Filters occupy three four-foot gondola sections in aisle 4 of the Beavercreek store, twelve linear feet with five shelves each. The category produces about 7 percent of the store's dry-goods sales and a higher share of gross margin, since replacement cartridges bring shoppers back every few weeks for as long as the filter runs.
The Current Assortment
The shelf currently holds 46 items. Breadth, the number of distinct subcategories, is four: hang-on-back filters, canister filters, internal filters and sponge filters. Depth, the number of versions within each, is uneven. Hang-on-back filters account for 22 items from three national brands and Glassmere's own label, often in overlapping sizes. Canister filters account for 12, internal filters for 9 and sponge filters for only 3.
By brand tier, national brands hold 34 items, Glassmere's label holds 8 and a premium European canister line holds 4.
The Target Shopper
My Unit 2 profile identified the established hobbyist with one to three tanks as the shopper who keeps the chain in business, with planted tanks and small shrimp or nano tanks growing fastest. That shopper often runs a sponge filter on a shrimp tank or a quiet canister on a planted display. The current shelf serves the beginner with a hang-on-back filter well and serves the growing hobbyist poorly.
The gap shows up at the service counter. Associates at Beavercreek say that shrimp keepers ask for sponge filters several times a week and are usually sent to the website, where a single sponge filter ships for more than its price. Planted-tank keepers ask for a canister that is quiet enough for a living room and costs less than the premium line, and the store has nothing between a $79 entry model and a $239 European model. Meanwhile the hang-on-back section, the one beginners shop, is crowded with near-identical boxes, and associates spend time explaining the difference between two filters that do the same job. The shelf is generous where the store's customers are leaving the hobby and thin where they are growing into it.
Additions
Four items come in. Two sizes of a double sponge filter enter because shrimp and betta keepers need gentle flow and currently buy sponge filters online. A mid-priced canister for tanks of 40 to 75 gallons fills a price gap between the entry canister and the premium line, a gap shoppers mention at the counter. A Glassmere-label pre-filter sponge sleeve enters at a low price point, because planted-tank keepers fit them to intakes to protect shrimp.
Deletions
Eight items leave. Five hang-on-back filters go because two national brands offer nearly identical sizes for 20- and 30-gallon tanks, and the slower brand in each pair sells fewer than three units a month in the store's records. Two internal filters go because they duplicate each other and have been marked down twice. One canister in the premium line goes because it is the largest size, sells rarely and takes a full shelf height.
Broniarczyk et al. (1998) found that shoppers' perception of a grocery category's variety held steady when low-selling items were cut, provided that favorite items remained and the category kept its shelf space. That supports cutting duplicate hang-on-back sizes while keeping the twelve feet intact. Chernev et al. (2015) pooled the choice overload studies and concluded that large assortments hurt only under certain conditions, for instance when the shopper has no settled preference or the options are hard to compare. For a beginner facing 22 hang-on-back boxes that look alike, fewer options are likely to help.
The Revised Assortment
After the changes, the shelf holds 42 items. Hang-on-back filters drop from 22 to 17, canisters stay at 12 with one swap, internal filters drop from 9 to 7, and sponge filters rise from 3 to 6. Glassmere's label adds one item and builds a good-better-best ladder in hang-on-back filters: a basic model, a mid-range model with a larger media basket and a quiet model with an adjustable flow.
The freed space goes mainly to sponge filters, which move from a bottom shelf to eye level, and to the new mid-priced canister, which takes the full-height position the deleted premium model held.
Risks
Some shoppers will be lost. A loyal buyer of a deleted hang-on-back model may need a cartridge that the store no longer sells beside the filter. Glassmere can soften that by keeping cartridges for discontinued models on the shelf for twelve months and selling the deleted filters through its website. Levy et al. (2019) note that assortment changes are tested best on a limited set of stores before rolling out, so the plan begins in Beavercreek and two other stores for one quarter, comparing category sales and cartridge sales with stores that kept the old shelf.
The plan cuts five filters nobody would miss and adds the three a growing group of shoppers currently buys somewhere else.
References
Broniarczyk, S. M., Hoyer, W. D., & McAlister, L. (1998). Consumers' perceptions of the assortment offered in a grocery category: The impact of item reduction. Journal of Marketing Research, 35(2), 166-176. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224379803500203
Chernev, A., Böckenholt, U., & Goodman, J. (2015). Choice overload: A conceptual review and meta-analysis. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 25(2), 333-358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2014.08.002
Levy, M., Weitz, B. A., & Grewal, D. (2019). Retailing management (10th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
MT102 Unit 4 instructions, in plain terms
Unit 4 asks you to choose one category at your retailer and plan its assortment within the shelf space it currently holds. Begin with the category and its space constraint, then describe the current assortment by breadth, the number of subcategories, and depth, the versions within each. Restate the target shopper from your profile, since every addition and deletion should serve that person. Additions need a gap they fill; deletions need a reason such as low sales, duplication or a better substitute on the shelf. Show the revised assortment so a reader can compare it with the current one. Many sections also ask about risk: which shoppers might be lost when an item disappears and how the retailer could soften the loss. If item sales are not published, observations such as facings and markdowns can serve as evidence. Plan on three to four pages.
How this MT102 Unit 4 example is built
The sample opens with the category's twelve feet, five shelves and share of sales, and explains why cartridges make filters more valuable than their sales suggest. The current assortment is counted by subcategory and brand tier. A paragraph on the shopper draws on counter requests: shrimp keepers asking for sponge filters and planted-tank keepers asking for a quiet canister between $79 and $239. Four additions and eight deletions follow, each with its reason. Broniarczyk, Hoyer and McAlister's finding that cutting low sellers need not reduce perceived variety, and Chernev, Böckenholt and Goodman's review of when large assortments hurt, answer the obvious objection. The revised shelf of 42 items is described subcategory by subcategory, with the freed space going to sponge filters at eye level. A risk section keeps cartridges for deleted filters for a year and starts with a three-store test.
MT102 Unit 4 rubric: what earns full points
Most of the credit in this plan goes to the quality of the trade-offs. Additions and deletions that each carry a specific reason earn far more than a general wish to improve the category, and a plan whose changes fit the shelf space described shows realism. Correct use of breadth and depth matters, since instructors check the terms. Tying every change to the target shopper identified earlier shows continuity across the term. Evidence for deletions, from sales records or observation, strengthens the argument. A risk section that names the shoppers who might be lost, and a way to keep them, shows mature judgment. Broniarczyk and colleagues, Chernev and colleagues, and Levy and coauthors are the three sources, used where they answer a specific question and given in APA 7. A clear before-and-after comparison helps the grader see the net change at a glance.
MT102 Unit 4 help: mistakes that cost points
Weak assortment plans add items without removing any, ignoring the fixed shelf the unit is built around. Others delete items because the writer dislikes them, with no sales or duplication evidence. A frequent gap is the target shopper, who disappears after the first paragraph. Some plans confuse breadth with depth or never measure either. Writers also forget the risk: a loyal buyer of a deleted item is a real cost. If your retailer sells mainly online, the constraint can shift to inventory or page space, but check with your instructor first. A handful of changes in each direction usually shows a real trade-off better than a single swap or a total rebuild. Tell us the category and retailer you are planning for, and a writer will help you count the shelf and decide what earns a facing.
Get an MT102 Unit 4 example written to your instructions
Pick the category, or ask for one to be chosen from the retailer in your profile, and forward the Unit 4 prompt with its rubric. A custom example plan follows those instructions and arrives inside 24-48h. The first costs nothing, and the table is laid out the way your section expects. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
More MT102 papers and BS in Business Administration samples
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- MT102 Unit 8: Customer Experience Audit
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MT102 Unit 4 questions, answered
Do I need actual sales data to justify deletions?
Retailers rarely publish item-level sales, and instructors know it. Evidence can come from what you observe: facings compared, items marked down or gathering dust, gaps that never get restocked, flavors that duplicate each other. Name the proxy you are using and why it suggests slow movement. A plan that states its evidence honestly scores better than one inventing precise velocity figures.
How many items should the plan add or drop?
Enough to show a real trade-off, which usually means a handful of each rather than a single swap or a total rebuild. The count matters less than whether the net change fits the shelf you described. If your prompt specifies a number, follow it; otherwise, let the space constraint set the scale and say so in the paper.
Can the plan cover an online assortment instead?
An online shelf has no physical limit, which removes the tension this unit is built around, so most sections expect a store category. If your retailer sells mainly online, the constraint can shift to inventory investment or warehouse capacity, but name that substitute constraint clearly and hold every addition and every deletion to it throughout the plan.
Where can I find a free MT102 Unit 4 sample paper?
This page contains a full MT102 Unit 4 assortment plan for aquarium filters, with current and revised assortments, additions, deletions, risks, three APA 7 references and margin notes.
Why does the plan cut filters without shrinking the shelf?
The deleted items duplicate other sizes or sell rarely. Research on item reduction found that shoppers' sense of variety held up when low sellers were cut and space stayed the same, so the freed facings go to sponge filters and a mid-priced canister.