Demystifying Mystery Shopping
Why organisations use Mystery Shopping, and its role within Customer Experience Measurement research
In this Ipsos Views white paper, we delve into the unique advantages of Mystery Shopping in assessing employee behaviours and internal processes, and how it comp
lements Voice of the Customer (VoC) research as part of a comprehensive Customer Experience measurement strategy.
Mystery Shopping provides objective, detailed feedback on employee performance and channel effectiveness during typical customer interactions, while VoC focuses on the customer's perceptions and feelings about their experience. Over time, Mystery Shopping has evolved into a highly sophisticated tool that delivers clear commercial benefits, such as improved compliance, product recommendation, and sales conversion.
In this paper, we outline four main types of Mystery Shopping programmes, each with specific business applications: Customer Service, Compliance, Product Recommendation, and Sales Conversion. When aligned with VoC insights, Customer Service Mystery Shopping enables organisations to identify and improve the employee behaviours that drive customer experience metrics. Compliance Mystery Shopping is crucial for preventing consumer harm and avoiding penalties in regulated industries, while Product Recommendation Mystery Shopping reveals if a manufacturer's products are being recommended by third-party sellers and why. Sales Conversion Mystery Shopping, when combined with sales data, allows retailers to optimise their sales processes and employee behaviours to maximise conversion rates.
The most customer-centric organisations leverage both Mystery Shopping and VoC in a holistic approach to drive continuous improvement. By understanding the unique roles and advantages of each methodology, businesses can create a powerful, integrated Customer Experience measurement system that delivers actionable insights and measurable business impact.
Ipsos is the largest provider of both Mystery Shopping and Customer Experience research in the world, with experts in over 90 countries.
Contact us today to learn more about how to transform your organisation and drive improvement in your business metrics.