Mystery Shopping Resources

We've grouped together all the information our site contains on mystery shopping to help you quickly and easily find related articles, companies, events, jobs, associations, glossary definitions and more.

Recent Articles

Below are the 5 most recent articles on this topic. These articles were published within the last three years and are only available to registered subscribers.

Trade Talk: Two vexing questions have been put to rest: Recent studies have helped Quirk's Editor Joseph Rydholm answer two marketing-related questions. First, do shoppers who buy only the items featured in a grocery store's weekly coupons adversely effect the store's profits? And second, with the rise of superstores, where everything from motor oil to lettuce is available for purchase, are consumers ever put off by having disparate products next to each other in their shopping carts?
Built well to work well: The various groups within a company that will be using a mystery shopping program must agree on many things at the outset, such as what the program will measure, how the information will be used and how the program will be organized. Only then can all parties benefit from the process and get the most from what can be an expensive and labor-intensive exercise.
A prescription for continued growth: Since beginning its mystery shopping program, drug store giant Walgreens has seen consistent improvement in its scores. Company-wide buy-in and management backing are credited with helping the program succeed.
Beyond customer service: Mystery shopping has a number of applications beyond the usual measurement of frontline employee performance, including brand-building, image tracking, performance improvement, and competitive audits.
Improve the customer experience: The author lists five issues to consider when developing and deploying a mystery shopping program and provides steps to take in order to secure consistent, worthwhile data.

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There are 43 articles in our archive related to this topic. Below are 5 selected at random and available to all users of the site.

Part of the mix: Many marketing professionals have little knowledge of or experience with mystery shopping. This article discusses mystery shopping, including what it is, objectivity and the quality of shoppers, and how it is effective.
Mystery shopping for the financial services industry — then and now: Marketing research is fairly new to the financial industry. This article discusses the history of mystery shopping, the first type of market research accepted by the banking industry, and provides several examples of how to use mystery shopping to increase sales and improve service.
Mystery shopping reports: Are quality and timeliness competing priorities?: With the increasing demand for quick turnaround and the widespread availability of the Internet, e-mail and interactive voice response, the quality of mystery shopping reports can be questionable. This article discusses what goes into a quality mystery shopping report.
A guide to success: An overview of how to install a mystery shopping program, from choosing a provider to training shoppers and designing questionnaires.
Similar but different: Mystery shopping can play a key role in the assessment of customer satisfaction levels in an organization. This article discusses mystery shopping, including what it can do for an organization and the mystery shopper’s perspective.

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Related Glossary Terms

Mystery shopping: The collection of information about service, cleanliness, knowledge etc. from retail outlets or other service providers by people posing as ordinary customers or members of the public.

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Related Associations

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Related Events

MSPA ANNUAL EUROPE CONFERENCE: May 21-23, 2008; The Mystery Shopping Providers Association will hold its annual Europe conference on May 21-23 at the Mövenpick Hotel Berlin in Berlin. For more information visit www.mspa.org.
AMA MARKETING RESEARCH BOOT CAMP: May 22-23, 2008; The American Marketing Association will hold its Marketing Research Boot Camp on May 22-23 at the Embassy Suites in Chicago. For more information visit www.marketingpower.com.

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