Mystery shopping in person requires a customer to visit a brick-and-mortar business to assess the purchasing process.

Telephone mystery shopping operates largely over telephone communication. The mystery shopper calls the business to gather information.

A mystery shopping program for online businesses is intended for those who operate mostly through e-commerce or who want to assess the customer experience of their e-commerce channel. For evaluation, the mystery shopper visits the company’s website to view its browsing, checkout, and follow-up processes.

For businesses with multiple distribution channels, mystery shopping may be conducted in-person, by telephone, or online. Regardless of the method, the goal remains to assess the customer experience.