Which action would BEST reduce shrink in a perishable category?

The correct answer is D .

Perishable shrink is mainly controlled by matching supply to expected demand and rotating product before it expires. CMKG’s Retailer Economics and Product Supply Chain material emphasizes that category managers need to understand how their decisions affect the retailer income statement and cost of goods sold, while category management and supply chain must be better aligned for store-level execution.

Improved forecasting reduces over-ordering and excess inventory. Shelf-life rotation ensures older or earlier-expiring product is sold first. FIFO/FEFO rotation is a standard perishable inventory control method because it helps reduce waste and spoilage by moving product before expiration.

Option A may help clear inventory in some cases, but increasing promotion frequency is not the best root-cause control for shrink. Option B is dangerous in perishables because larger orders can increase spoilage if demand is overestimated. Option C changes assortment composition but does not directly control spoilage, dating, or inventory loss. The strongest operational answer is improve forecasting and shelf-life rotation .