Who is a Mystery Shopper?
A mystery shopper is someone who is hired to shop, something like a personal shopper but the aims and objectives of hiring mystery shoppers are different from those of personal shoppers.
A mystery shopper is hired by clients who want to assess the impact of various aspects of buying. For instance a company may hire a mystery shopper to determine the level of customer service that is provided at its stores.
The shopper will be given a brief as to which aspects of customer service should be tested, for example:
- Assistance rendered by floor staff
- Willingness to respond to queries
- Customer complaint/grievance redressal
The mystery shopper’s job could be to assess the quality of service rendered to the buyer throughout the shopping process. It really depends on the client and what he’s looking for.
How Can You Turn Mystery Shopper?
There are a number of companies that conduct marketing research for corporate clients. Registering with them is the best way to get in to the mystery shopping business. I would recommend registering with reputed market research companies or agencies.
It’s the only way you won’t get scammed and it is the best way to make some headway in to this interesting line of work.
Better still get the word around that you are game to function as an independent shopper.
What are the Perks?
Apart from getting paid to shop, here’s what you gain from mystery shopping:
- The opportunity to shop at some great places
- The chance to observe and rate various aspects of a store/mall
- Interaction with sales persons and other buyers
- Information about different products and services
- A glimpse of the latest trends in fashion, style and technology
You could be paid in cash or coupons and vouchers might be given in exchange for your services.
Who Can Become a Mystery Shopper?
It would be such a cliche for me to say anyone can. But I believe mystery shopping is not for everyone. To become one you need:
- An inquisitive mind
- The ability to gauge and assess abstract facets of the shopping experience
- Information about latest trends
- An eye for detail
- People skills
- The ability to ask intelligent questions
I know bored housewives, college students also turn mystery shoppers to earn a supplementary income but I would say go for it only if you enjoy shopping and can treat it as much as a job if nothing else.