Being a retail business owner, it gets difficult to identify how their staff is working. Are they doing a good job, or are customers happy with their in-store experience?
This is where mystery shopping in retail comes in.
It is a process where someone visits a store pretending to be a regular customer. Their job is to quietly observe how the store looks, how the staff behaves, and how smooth the overall experience is. After their visit, they create a detailed feedback report and share it with the brand.
Let’s dive deeper and understand how mystery shopping works, the different types used in retail, and how it helps a retail business grow.
How Mystery Shopping in Retail Works?
Mystery shopping in retail is a process to understand. A trained shopper visits a store without informing or revealing their identity to the brand. They act and behave like a normal customer, like walking around, asking questions, buying something, or even returning a product.
Here is what comes behind the scenes. This is what they observe on:
• Was the store clean and organized?
• Did the staff greet politely?
• Were their questions answered clearly?
• How long did it take to get help or check out?
It can also be considered a mystery shopping survey. After their visit, they create a detailed report with all their honest feedback, including the goods and the bads. This is what helps retail business owners or managers see the store from a customer’s point of view. And eventually leading towards improvements where needed.
Types of Mystery Shopping in Retail
Here are the most common types of mystery shopping in the retail business. It can vary according to what they want to check.
1. In-Store Mystery Shopping
This is one of the most popular ones where a shopper visits the physical store, interacts with staff, looks at how products are displayed, and sees the overall experience.
2. Telephone Mystery Shopping
In this type, the mystery shopper calls the store instead of visiting. They act like a customer, ask questions about products, return policies, or availability. Once done, they share the report on how helpful and polite the staff were on the call.
3. Online Mystery Shopping
It is the best for eCommerce businesses, as this type focuses on a store’s website or app. To do this, the shopper checks how easy it is to browse, order, or chat with support.
4. Video or Audio Mystery Shopping
If allowed by the retail business owner, some shoppers also use hidden cameras or audio recorders to capture real interactions. This enables store managers to review exactly what happened during the visit.
5. Competitor Mystery Shopping
In this type of mystery shopping, a shopper visits a competitor’s store. It is done to see how their service, prices, or product quality compares.
Benefits of Mystery Shopping in Retail
Most business owners confuse considering mystery shopping is just about catching mistakes. It is about taking a smart way to improve how a store works and how customers feel.
Here is how it benefits a retail business:
1. Better Customer Experience
After getting detailed feedback about how customers are treated at your store, you can fix issues and make the shopping experience smoother and friendlier.
2. Fair Employee Evaluation
It is hard to judge employee performance. However, mystery shopping gives unbiased reports based on real situations. This helps managers see what is working and what needs improvement.
3. Consistent Service Across Stores
If you are a brand with many locations, mystery shopping ensures that every store follows the same standards. It helps maintain a strong and consistent brand image, enabling a top-notch customer experience for every customer.
4. Helps Spot Problems Early
Mystery also brings some unnoticed issues to light before real customers start complaining. It can be long billing lines, messy shelves, or rude staff.
5. Guides Staff Training
A detailed mystery shopping survey also helps managers know where staff may need extra support or training.
Using Mystery Shopping Software for Better Results
Using mystery shopping software can help you avoid delays and the possibility of missed details. Here is how it helps:
• Organized Reports: You can have all your feedback from different shoppers stored in one place. This makes it easier to review and compare.
• Quick Insights: The software highlights patterns, like which stores are doing well and which ones need work.
• Score Tracking: You can set scoring systems. It can be to rate service, cleanliness, or staff behaviour.
• Real-Time Access: Managers can check results in real-time, from anywhere, through a dashboard or app.
How to Conduct a Mystery Shopping Survey Successfully?
Conducting a mystery shopping survey successfully is a process that needs planning. Here are a few simple steps:
• Set clear goals: As the saying goes, deciding what you have to do helps you reach your desired results. So, decide what you want to measure. It can be staff behavior, product knowledge, or store cleanliness.
• Choose the right locations: Choose carefully where you want to evaluate stores or branches.
• Select trained shoppers: Ensure that you make your mystery shopper understand the task and stay unbiased.
• Use a simple survey format: Your mystery shopping report should be easy to fill out. You can use mystery shopping software to ensure nothing important is missed.
• Review and act on feedback: Use the results to guide improvements and staff training.
Summing Up
It is important to note that even small details can make a big difference in retail. Keeping your customers happy is essential to growing your retail business. Using mystery shopping in the retail business can help you see what your customers see. You will get to know the good, the bad, and everything in between.
Using trained shoppers and gathering honest feedback is a way to improve your service, train your staff better, and keep your customers happy. You can use shopperXM to streamline assignments to mystery shoppers and operate everything from one single dashboard.
Do not ignore the fact that whether you run one store or have hundreds of branches, mystery shopping gives you the insights you need to grow and stay ahead.
Using mystery shopping in the retail business can help you see what your customers see.
