NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 How much choice is too much?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Apparently for Coca-Cola, it\u2019s about 400 different types of drinks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s why the beverage company recently decided to discontinue half of them<\/u><\/a>, shedding brands like Tab, Zico coconut water, Diet Coke Feisty Cherry and Odwalla juices but still leaving about 200 others to choose from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a move that other businesses are making as well, reducing the variety of offerings from mayonnaise to cereals to cars and instead focusing on what they think will sell best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stew Leonard\u2019s, a supermarket chain that operates stores in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, now has 24 cereal flavors or types, down from 49 in 2019. Edgewell Personal Care Co., the maker of Schick razors and Banana Boat suntan lotion, has trimmed certain varieties of its anti-bacteria wipes Wet Ones, among others. And Dollar General, based in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, used to stock six different kinds of mayonnaise on its shelves and is now looking to drop a couple of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe consumer is not going to know the difference,\u201d Todd J. Vasos, CEO of Dollar General, told analysts in December. \u201cActually, it\u2019s going to make her life a little simpler when she goes to the shelf.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just a year ago, Kohl\u2019s store in Clifton, New Jersey had tables stacked high with sweaters and shirts in a rainbow of colors as well as dress racks crammed with a wide assortment of styles. Now, it boasts a more edited approach \u2014 tables have slim piles of knit shirts that focus on fewer colors, and many dress racks have been reduced to just three or four styles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under its new CEO Tom Kingsbury, Kohl\u2019s has been cutting back on the colors and variations of sweaters, jeans and other items, while sending their buyers into the New York market more frequently to bring in fresh trendy merchandise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe would go out, and we would buy a lot of goods and it would come in 12, 14 months later, and it didn\u2019t perform very well,\u201d Kingsbury told analysts in a call in November. \u201cWe\u2019re going to be using the marketplace, so that we can react to the business quickly, getting into trends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some customers like the changes so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s pretty organized,\u201d said Kimberly Ribeiro, 30, who was at the Kohl\u2019s store on a recent Friday. \u201cIf it\u2019s not so cluttered, then you don\u2019t get overwhelmed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even in the auto world, shoppers are finding fewer choices. Both General Motors and Ford have been touting how they are limiting the number of option combinations customers can get on their vehicles to reduce manufacturing and purchasing complexity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s a reversal from a few years ago when there was an explosion of choices, encouraged in part by online shopping that paid no mind to space constraints. But that didn\u2019t always lead to sales so companies started pruning selections a year or two before the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the pandemic, the pruning only accelerated, with companies focusing on necessities as they wrestled with supply chain clogs. But even after the pandemic, when goods began moving freely again, many businesses decided less was better and justified the limited selection by asserting shoppers don\u2019t want so much choice. It\u2019s also more profitable for companies because they\u2019re not carrying over as many leftovers that need to be discounted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Overall, new items accounted for about 2% of products in stores in 2023 across categories such as beauty, footwear, technology and toys, down from 5% of items in 2019, says market-research firm Circana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eric O\u2019Toole, president of Edgewell\u2019s North America division, noted the pandemic presented \u201ca really valuable stimulus\u201d for reassessing assortment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe avoid jumping on fads, as the supply chain and retailer costs required to support getting to shelf typically don\u2019t generate a return in the end,\u201d O\u2019Toole said. \u201cA tighter, more curated portfolio supports healthy profit management. \u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many think they\u2019re also doing shoppers a favor, with studies showing that fewer choices, not lots of variety, actually encourage shoppers to buy more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n