MISTAKE #59: Your sizing is off

Do you compete in a category that has standardized sizes?  Or is there room to manipulate your costs or perceived value by getting a little more creative?

If your category has established size increments with absolutely no room for modification, this article probably won't be worth reading.

Companies are constantly experimenting with new ways to alter the size as a means to lower their cost, take a hidden price increase to inflate margins, or get retail pricing below certain thresholds.

Fewer and fewer categories have restrictive sizing.

16-ounce canned fruits and vegetables are becoming 14.5 ounces.

Beauty products start emphasizing their size in milliliters or grams instead of ounces.

Pringles can pump more air into their potato crisps to preserve the volume and chip count but reduce the product weight.

The standard 20-pound liquid propane tank is now more commonly sold only ¾ full, as a 15-pound refill.

Did you know select-a-size products (like a paper towel) can drive volume because users still typically grab two sheets which are actually larger than one regular size sheet?

Are you more excited to buy a 10-ounce item or an 8-ounce + 20% bonus pack?  You’d be surprised how many people think the bonus pack (which is only 9.6 ounces) is the larger size or better value.

Who knows how to compare toilet paper side-by-side anymore...These are the true masters of manipulating size.  There are a dozen different descriptions for the roll size.  Rolls can contain fewer than 100 sheets or up to 1,000 sheets.  And the individual sheets even come in different lengths and widths.

SIZE STILL MATTERS 

Did you put enough thought into the size of your product?  Does it simply follow what is common among other products in the category?  Or is it even more arbitrary…based on what packaging was readily available? 

If you can control the size of your product, but there isn’t a good rationale for its size, you’ve probably missed an opportunity to do something better.

Tidy Cats saw the opportunity to offer a lighter-weight product to address a key source of dissatisfaction.

Beverage companies are capitalizing on the desire for smaller cans even when the cost per ounce is significantly higher.

Many beauty products are mastering the distribution of multi-packs as larger individual SKUs are becoming impractical.

Spend some time studying shoppers and how they buy and use your product.

Learn how shoppers evaluate the size, what size they prefer, and why they prefer it. 

Better understand the consequence or drawbacks of products as they get too large or too small.  You might just discover a new perspective at the extreme ends of the range.

Consider how size can be used to reinforce your value perception and attract more shoppers by offering them what they want.

Consider how size can impact the user experience, for better or worse.

Take a little time to consider if this is an overlooked opportunity to attract more buyers or if it might even be a barrier preventing more people from initially trying your product.

If you need help learning how size factors into what shoppers buy (and don't buy) in your category, we’d be happy to help.