Mystery shop essentials: Confidence built on evidence
Are you inspecting what you expect? Our recent POV, Mystery Shop Essentials: Confidence Built on Evidence, explores the growing gap between brand promises and what customers actually experience at the shelf — and how to close it with fast, focused measurement. As we enter into one of the busiest retail periods of the year, here are some great perspectives to consider.
From Brand Promises to Customer Realities
We examine the growing divide between brand expectations and customer experiences, emphasising the dangers of assumptions and the importance of replacing speculation with tangible evidence to transform vulnerable hopes into unshakeable certainty.
Inspect What You Expect
In the intensely competitive and economically challenging landscape, the discrepancy between a brand’s promise and its actual delivery at the point of sale has never been more crucial. Brands spend millions crafting their image, messaging and managing customer journeys; yet the ultimate success or failure hinges on everyday interactions that remain unseen.
The fundamental questions every brand should address are straightforward:
- Are our standards being executed flawlessly right now?
- Are our products being passionately and accurately recommended?
- Does the customer experience truly reflect the designed journey?
In this paper, we explore how brands can excel in a retail environment where success hinges on one core principle: you must ‘inspect what you expect.’ To provide a clear path forward, three of our senior Ipsos Channel Performance (CHP) experts - Andy Gregory (CHP Head, New Zealand), Faraaz Kharwa (APEC GSC Director), and Abhishek Jha (CHP Head, India) - share their actionable insights. They outline a modern approach to mystery shopping that is faster, simpler, and more targeted, delivering the agility brands need to win at the shelf.
Why focused measurement matters:
- Everyday interactions decide whether your brand promise lands. In one program, 63 stores displayed competitor products and 20% had faulty lighting. In another, 55% of outlets missed QR codes and 30% had payment failures.
- Advocacy drives growth. One telecommunications promotion was mentioned in only 1 of 3 interactions despite strong in-store visibility; another brand saw just 12% advocacy before course-correcting with training and presence.
- Certainty beats hope. Essentials delivers quick, actionable evidence on share of voice, message fidelity, and competitor positioning — at double the speed and half the cost of standard programs.
Are you serious about turning strategy into consistent delivery? This is your blueprint to move from hopeful compliance to real-time certainty. Read the POV and see how agile mystery shopping can protect reputation, lift conversions, and grow revenue — one interaction at a time.
If you have any questions about Ipsos New Zealand's mystery shopping services and how they can help your retail operations thrive, please contact Andy Gregory.
