Shopper habits.

Year by year, manufacturers develop new products; the number of new launches in shops has been rapidly increasing for decades. The shopper, on the other hand, is increasingly overtaxed by this development. He or she used to go to his or her shop and buy "his or her" products. Today, the shopper must first be led to "his or her" products in order to be able to make the buying decision. Two hearts beat in his or her chest – that of the simple shopper who would like to buy something and that of the king who wants to be offered (sold) something.

Of course, manufacturers and retailers try to convince the king. But between his or her expectation (of service, brand, product) and his or her perception (e.g. of the services provided at the point of sale), there is frequently a contradiction. Triggered by non-customised communication and lack of category orientation, this results in the "king's" buying decision at the point of sale rapidly ending in a refusal to buy.

Shopper insight services at K.horns always pursue the goal of resolving the contradiction. The potential for differentiation and success of manufacturer and retail, brand and product lies in equally satisfying expectations and perceptions. We help to turn the dissatisfied and overtaxed shopper into a satisfied shopper (» Expectation v perception).

We give answers.

Success is preceded by knowledge about the actual buying process and its systematic application along the entire value chain. To generate the know-how for our customers, we research the in-store buying habits of the shoppers and can thus answer the principal questions:

How does the shopper perceive placements, ranges, individual products or promotions at the point of sale? Which decisions result from this? How does he or she buy? What types of shoppers and shopping situations are there? What are the principal factors and what kind of individual solutions satisfy the needs of these shoppers?

The answers to these questions enable a continuous increase in our level of knowledge. In other words: we structure and capitalise developed knowledge and constantly enhance it for our customers. You profit from this e.g. in the form of dynamic shopper manuals – always a synthesis of several studies and the foundation for the creation of "learning organisations" (» Organisation development).

Success through feedback.

Our procedure when developing shopper insight is modular, transparent and is done in permanent consultation with the customer. "Intermediate workshops", for example, help us to ensure discussions and reflections during the entire project period. As a result, the organisation can prematurely work with intermediate results and we avoid surprises in the final report.

In this way, our customers are given optimum results for the feedback process, as any false assessments can be recognised and corrected at an early stage. Finally, one component of K.horns' success is the loss-free and flawless implementation of concept suggestions – related to communication and design for category, brands and products.