I’m sorry, can we stop talking about how all retailers should be like Apple? It’s a design concept unique to Apple. Their “curation” comes down to their product selection which is their brand. Yes smart brands understanding curated product helps customers not feel like shopping is work. The reason you go to Amazon though is that you have every choice there. I don’t see this being applicable across both platforms.

Selective assortments can be a weapon against Amazon, and they will work in certain categories. We have all heard the sentiment of not trying to out-Amazon Amazon. That won’t work for any company except possibly Walmart, so why clutter your website with thousands of items?

Less is more is absolutely a viable and important strategy when competing with a formidable competitor. You can’t compete with Amazon on depth or breadth of assortment and all the related infrastructure they’ve built up over the past two decades. However by truly knowing your customers, their needs and behaviors, and delivering a fresh and interesting shopping experience that engages in the moment and enhances your relationship with them — you can differentiate and compete.

Don’t try to be everything to everyone, but seek to be indispensable to a sufficiently large niche to support your business; this not only offers a defensible moat, but can prepare you to take measured steps to expand profitably.

Less is more is not a viable strategy per se — it works when you have an overwhelming number of choices and little differentiation. Having 18 colors of polo shirts is fine if they are different. When you have 18 brands of the same-looking polo in the same 18 shades tha’s when Chris’ point kicks in. Stores like Trader Joe’s get away with a limited assortment in some categories because a.) their shoppers don’t expect a lot of assortment and b.) sometimes there’s a limit to what you need. That said, they offer a big wine and cheese assortment, lots of nuts and snacks, etc. — not everything is limited.

Analysis paralysis is certainly a very real thing, but Amazon helps its consumers overcome a major part of that barrier — the fear of making the wrong decision — with their ultra-fast shipping and lenient return policy. While curated collections will help in some industries, retailers who wish to compete directly with Amazon need generous return policies as well.

Yes — less is more! For any brick-and-mortar retailer who is not purposefully examining the relevance of their assortment to their customer base, their road is not only rocky it is dangerous.

Last week I presented on this topic during an ECRM event in Phoenix — here’s the post interview. My message was simple. Ensure that 1.) the assortment curated properly; 2.) it is aligned with the retail mission; and 3) the team is well-prepared. Very similar to Chris’ views and comments.

Consumers want choice, but they want that choice to be edited. Editing takes two forms. First, it is curating so that products are coordinated. Second, it is personalization so that products are relevant.

Doing this in-store, where one uniform space has to serve lots of different customers is challenging. Although not throwing loads of products out there in a sea-of-merchandise approach (as many retailers still do) is critical. However, digital platforms allow much more creative solutions to present an edited choice, and retailers should be making full use of this.

Phil has it — the vast majority of purchases on Amazon occur when someone has already determined what to buy. One might suggest that shopping is probably happening elsewhere, transacting is what occurs on Amazon (after all, try “shopping” that website. It’s not a beautiful experience at all).

The safe long-term play is to have a brand and an experience that shoppers want to interact with; one that you can edit, price and control. Amazon is a mall, not a store, unless you’re buying an Amazon brand in which case they are also a supplier to that mall. The only way to control where that transacting takes place is to be the brand owner.

Relevance is everything. So is “less is more” a viable alternative? Absolutely, as long as the “less” is consistent with a lifestyle approach. I think the outdoors guys like L.L.Bean and REI had this right from the get-go. Everything for the enthusiast. Whole Foods made its bones on organic and local and trust.

I’d love to see something similar in apparel (though I suppose some would say that’s why we have specialty stores).

But yes, Amazon’s breadth can work against it in many ways. Unfortunately you have to stay close on price, since it will always be a price comparison site, at minimum.

I agree with the need for a “less is more” approach and have observed that the “endless aisle” theory of many retailers sounds like something from a store in a horror movie.

That said, it’s not going to be easy. Home Depot has been pushing hard on an endless aisle approach. At this point, we can’t say it’s working against them (see today’s quarterly report).

So the power of “less is more” will take considerable insight and cleverness to leverage.

Supply matters. If you’re selling commoditized products such as in the light bulb example, than having a plethora of options conveys trust. Perceived differentiated products, such as MacBook Pros, iPhones or iPads on the other hand have perceived value built-in and require no comparison unless it’s to an adjacent internal product category (iPhone/iPhone Plus). It is an entirely different model, and one that has been over twenty years in the making since the first store in 2001. Apple drives so much revenue out of their stores, and they offer virtually zero customization on their computer product line for cash and carry retail customers. What does that tell you?

Before the conversation even involves Amazon, “less is more” is probably the right strategy for most mall retailers. I was in the mall three times a week during 2016 before spending 2017 in China. The retailers in the most trouble, Aéropostale and New York & Company. for instance, were trying to solve their problems with “more.” Aéropostale went bankrupt. I suspect New York & Company came close. I am now back in the malls and both Aéropostale and New York & Company are operating with 20 percent to 25 percent less inventory on the floor. Stories are focused and actually readable. I can’t say how Aéropostale is doing as it is now private, but New York & Company has bounced from about $1 per share to more than $4 per share. The constraints of space, attention span and (human) bandwidth are real. Deal with it.

Curation is the ONLY strategy in an Amazon world. Do one thing and do it really well. Why do we think department stores or J.C. Penney are doing poorly? Or why do we think Walmart and Target are scrambling to compete? They do many things just OK but, at the same time, get their butts kicked on the convenience side, which is trouble in spades in today’s retail environment.

One good example is pour-over coffee. There have been four or five coffee shops opened in Columbus, Ohio (yeah, Columbus) in the last couple of years. Lines out the door. Opening more stores. Why? They do one thing and man do they do it well.

Having said that, are you going to compete on the 100 billion to trillion dollar level with that strategy? I guess you could ask Apple and see if it’s possible.