Mystery Shopping is objective, unbiased feedback from trained ‘customers’ – mystery shoppers – to measure how organisations deliver on Brand Promises across markets, touchpoints and channels – physical, ‘phone and digital...

We have vast experience with retailers – including luxury, banks, technology and telecommunications providers, petroleum/convenience store companies, auto dealers, restaurants and many other sectors. Through this, we have observed that operational consistency is mission critical – and that Mystery Shopping is the best research tool to measure this. It is reliable, repeatable and robust – a fact that is backed by a two billion dollar industry, of which Ipsos is the largest by a significant margin.

We address the business questions across your organisation, including:

• Operations: How do frontline sales staff perform relative to brand or operational standards?
• Market Research/Insight: What best practices can be learnt from the competition?
• Human Resources: How effectively are frontline sales staff following new training programmes?
• Marketing/Sales: How effective was a new product launch? What about promotional offers?
• Regulatory/Compliance: Do staff know and follow legal requirements?
• Supply chain management: How effective is the channel strategy? Which partners are promoting your brand versus the competition’s?

To measure the execution of brand and service promises, we deploy trained shoppers to assess physical locations, websites, apps, and contact centres. These shoppers browse or buy products and services, and complete a pre-defined questionnaire, assessing the extent to which these promises are being kept. Our teams analyse the data gathered, integrate them with other research insights, bring the information to life through dashboard reporting, video montages and storytelling, and make business impact recommendations to client stakeholders.

Depending on objectives, we recommend the most appropriate Mystery Shopping approach:

• Shopper Experience - This is our ‘classic’ Mystery Shopping service where detailed, task-oriented assessments are required. Highly trained shoppers identify gaps between intended and actual experiences, across all customer touchpoints.
• Micro Shops - These are brief, tactical mystery shops deployed and reported with quick turnaround, with crowdsourcing as an option for mass volume, short questionnaire projects.
• Experience Evaluations - Overt assessments, with advice on improvements required or results delivered on location.

All our services are delivered across multiple channels – brick and mortar locations, online (email/app/web, via social media, etc.), and telephone (contact centres, branches).

Sophisticated technology platforms (enabling mobile data collection, real-time feedback, best-in-class reporting and video feedback) form a key part of our services, as do analytics and advisory, including, for example, training programmes and service design workshops.

We promise programmes that that deliver Better Design, Better Execution and Better Impact across the world.

Want to be a Mystery Shopper?