For category managers
Sell-out data for category managers
Updated 21 October 2026
A category manager uses sell-out data to answer where the category is growing, which products earn their space and what the next range review should change. The answers sit in the detail: rate of sale per store, distribution gaps, price and promotion effects, all compared like for like.
Range reviews built on evidence
Retailers review ranges on their own numbers. A category manager who can show rate of sale per store ranging the product, not just total sales, can defend a listing, argue for a new one and suggest which tail products to cut before the retailer does.
What a category manager looks at
- Rate of sale per store per week, so products in 50 stores and 500 stores compare fairly.
- Numerical and weighted distribution, and the gap between stores that stock a product and stores that sell it.
- Price parity across retailers and its effect on volume.
- Promotion effectiveness and return on investment, net of the baseline.
- New product launches against the products they replaced.
Joined to your categories, not the retailer's
Every retailer groups products its own way. Linking sell-out to your own category hierarchy, ranging and promotion calendar is what makes comparisons across retailers possible.
How OuterJoin helps
We augment every retailer's sell-out with your categories, ranging, site master, store tags and promotion calendar, so the dashboards and reports compare like with like. For range reviews, pricing and promotion questions, our analysts work from your brief.
Common questions
- Can you compare a product's performance across retailers?
- Yes. Once each retailer's codes are linked to your own product master, the same product lines up across every retailer you supply.
- Do you measure promotion uplift?
- Yes. We compare sales during the promotion with a baseline from comparable weeks and stores, so the uplift is what the promotion added, not what would have sold anyway.
- What is the difference between numerical and weighted distribution?
- Numerical distribution counts stores. Weighted distribution counts how much those stores sell. Our guide on the two explains when each one matters.