18 September 2025
Why we annotate five SKUs instead of ranking five hundred
Full rankings look thorough and rarely get read. Annotation strips focus the buying meeting on moves you can actually schedule.
Export culture loves a full ranking. Product catalog engagement reporting that aims for decisions prefers a short annotated strip.
The meeting-time problem
A five-hundred-row table invites sorting theatre. People filter, argue about edge SKUs, and leave without owners for follow-up. A strip of five to eight callouts forces prioritisation.
How we choose the strip
We mix:
- High attention with weak basket continuation
- Quiet pages with surprisingly strong conversion once reached
- Neighbours that cannibalise each other in the same bay
The mix depends on the brief. A clearance story looks different from a hero-refresh story.
Where the full list still lives
Appendix pages can carry broader tables for analysts who need them. The front of the pack stays poster-like so merchandisers can walk the room through a narrative.
If you want that framing on your next assortment, request a report.