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.

Building equity: How do banks increase sales and enhance relationships in the current erratic, untrusting markets? In light of the tough market, financial institutions are reevaluating their sales and service strategies. More and more financial institutions are using shop studies to monitor how current and potential customers perceive them. This article discusses important steps to consider in initiating a program in the financial services industry.
Now more than ever: In a sluggish economy, companies look for efficient ways to obtain information, decrease travel costs, analyze competitors and fine-tune their business operations. This article discusses how mystery shopping can benefit a company, including helping it thrive in lean times.
Going for the gold: Sonic Drive-in uses the Sonic Games, an annual incentive program that uses mystery shopping, to motivate frontline employees.
Refining service: Mystery shopping has been growing in popularity. This article discusses that growth and how Texaco used mystery shopping to research its excellence program, Building Tomorrow Together, by reviewing each of its wholesale and retail gas stations and truck stops.
No wigs and sunglasses needed: Consumers and corporate leaders often mistakenly envision mystery shopping as women in wigs and sunglasses. This article discusses mystery shopping, including a review of some of the effective products mystery shoppers can provide, such as rewards and recognition, merchandising verification and marketing verification.

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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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