Mystery shopping is a tool used by market research companies to measure quality of retail
service or gather specific information about products and services. Mystery shoppers posing as
normal customers perform specific tasks -- such as purchasing a product, asking questions,
registering complaints or behaving in a certain way -- and then provide detailed reports or
feedback about their experiences.
When a client company comes on board with a company providing Mystery Shopping services, a
survey model will be drawn up and agreed to which defines what information and improvement
factors the client company wishes to measure as part of the mystery shopping process. These are
then drawn up into survey instruments and assignments that are allocated to shoppers registered
with the mystery shopping company in question.
Some of the common details and information points shoppers
the date and time of the pre-visit phone call
the name of the store on each side of the store visited
number of employees in the store on entering
how long it takes before the mystery shopper is greeted
the name of the employee(s)
whether or not the greeting is friendly
the questions asked by the shopper to find a suitable product
the types of products shown
if or how the employee attempted to close the sale
whether the employee invited the shopper to come back to the store
cleanliness of store and store associates
speed of service
compliance with company standards relating to service, store appearance, and
grooming/presentation
Shoppers are often given instructions or procedures to make the transaction atypical to make the
test of the knowledge and service skills of the employees more stringent or specific to a
particular service issue (known as scenarios). For instance, mystery shoppers at a restaurant may
pretend they are lactose-intolerant, or a clothing store mystery shopper could inquire about gift-
wrapping services. Not all mystery shopping scenarios include a purchase.
From there, the shopper will then submit the data collected to the Mystery shopping company in
question. The data is then reviewed and analyzed before quantitative and qualitative statistical
[analysis] reports on the data are then returned to the client company that enables measurement
against the previously defined criteria.
Some retailers hire marketing research companies to evaluate the quality of service in their stores; these companies
use mystery shoppers to get the information anonymously. They assign a mystery shopper to make a particular
purchase in a store or restaurant, for example, and then report on the experience. Typically, the shopper is
reimbursed, and can keep the product or service.
Many professionals in the field consider mystery shopping a part-time activity, at best. And, they add, opportunities
generally are posted online by marketing research or merchandising companies. Nevertheless, fraudulent mystery
shopping promoters are using newspaper ads and emails to create the impression that they’re a gateway to lucrative
mystery shopper jobs with reputable companies. These solicitations usually promote a website where consumers can
“register” to become mystery shoppers — after they pay a fee for information about a certification program, a
directory of mystery shopping companies, or a guarantee of a mystery shopping job.
The truth is that it is unnecessary to pay money to anyone to get into the mystery shopper business. The shopping
certification offered in advertising or unsolicited email is almost always worthless. A list of companies that hire
mystery shoppers is available for free; and legitimate mystery shopper jobs are on the Internet for free. Consumers
who try to get a refund from promoters of mystery shopping jobs usually are out of luck. Either the business doesn’t
return the phone calls, or if it does, it’s to try another pitch.