Perceived Assortment Variety

What it measures

Four nine-point items measure the perceived variety in a product assortment and the enjoyment expected from that variety. The first three items use agree/disagree anchors and tap hedonic variety value, preferred option availability, and variety of consumption modes. The fourth uses quantity-of-variety anchors and directly assesses perceived variety level. The scale was used in a study examining how assortment structure affects perceived variety and consumption.

Response format

9-point mixed (items 1–3: strongly disagree/strongly agree; item 4: very little variety/very much variety)

Scale items

• This assortment of __________ gives me a lot of variety for me to enjoy.
• This assortment of __________ gives me at least one flavor I like.
• This assortment of __________ offers more ways to enjoy it.
• How much variety do you think there is in this assortment?

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Developed for use in Study 5 of six studies. Alpha of .81. All scales in the study yielded one-factor solutions. No validity testing beyond factor analysis was reported. The word 'flavor' in item 2 should be replaced with an appropriate attribute descriptor for non-food product assortments.

Citation

Kahn, B. E., & Wansink, B. (2004). The influence of assortment structure on perceived variety and consumption quantities. Journal of Consumer Research, 30(4), 519–533.

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