The first mall in the United States was built in 1956 in Minnesota, known as the Southdale Center Mall which is the oldest climate controlled enclosed mall in the United States. Since its opening, mall shopping became popular in the 1960s as people started to live in the suburbs and enjoyed the amenities that malls had to offer including nursing lounges, seating lounges, and family restrooms. Today, there are still about 1,000 malls operating in the United States. However, by the turn of the millennium, E-Commerce had become increasingly popular driving mall closures. With the decreasing mall footprint as a backdrop, many companies have stressed customer experience in order to retain brand loyalty and continue to allure consumers to physical brick & mortar stores. This has also allowed marketing research companies to deploy ways to verify and check a customer’s experience through a method called “Mystery Shopping.”
What is a mystery Shopper?
Mystery Shopping is an activity where an individual visits a brick & mortar store or operation with the goal of assessing the quality of customer experience. The most crucial element of Mystery Shopping is the ability to pose as a normal customer in order to receive accurate and real results. Mystery Shoppers have varying objectives including but not limited to assessing the number of employees on duty, how long it took to be greeted, and how well and how fast you received service.
Why is a mystery Shopper important?
The main goal of mystery shopping is to evaluate a companies’ customer service in order to identify potential areas to improve. Poor customer service can be the result of hiring the wrong people, lack of proper training, and lack of employee engagement which can be identified through mystery shopping. Companies that invest in their customer service understand that repeat customers are more likely to spend more and will refer others. On the flip side, poor customer service can kill a brand and word spreads quickly. For example, David Dao’s video of being forcibly removed from a fully boarded United flight went viral on 2017 which made the airline one of world’s most hated airline overnight. In hindsight, great customer service can elevate a brand’s image and even allow it to charge a premium for products and services.
How much money can you make mystery shopping?
Mystery shoppers on average in the United States makes roughly $20 per hour or $800 per week. New mystery shoppers can expect to be paid a minimum hourly wage of $8 an hour while more experienced shoppers can expect as high as $25 per hour. Mystery shoppers work on various assignments with differing levels of complexity that can pay anywhere from $8 to $100 per assignment. As a mystery shopper, you will likely be working as an independent contractor meaning you will be responsible for paying your own taxes.
How can I start mystery shopping?
There are several mystery shopping agencies including BestMark, Sinclair Customer Metrics, and Market Force. The most popular of the 3 is BestMark which was founded in 1986 as one of the first and largest mystery shopping measurement company. In order to start shopping for BestMark, you would need to fill out their online application. Basic qualifications include:
- Legal Age of at least 18 years old
- Must have a vehicle as a means of transportation
- Access to your own computer and internet connection
- Attention to Detail
- Resident in the United States or Canada.
The term mystery shopping was invented in 1940s and has become a powerful tool to help companies identify areas to improve their customer service. The freelance profession has also allowed many to have another source of income and flexible work hours. For those that enjoy shopping and have spare time, Mystery shopping can be a great option that may result in an additional $20K a year on top of the freebies that you receive per assignment.
