What is Mystery Shopping?
Jaap de Jonge, Editor, Netherlands
Mystery shopping is a marketing practice in which people that are unknown to a shop, restaurant or other service provider are used to make a purchase and to describe their findings in detail. The tool can be used by market research companies, watchdog organizations or internally by companies themselves to measure quality of service or compliance to regulation, or to gather specific information about products and services.
Typically, the mystery consumer's specific identity is generally not known by the establishment being evaluated. Mystery shoppers perform specific tasks such as purchasing a product, asking questions, registering complaints or behaving in a certain way, and then provide detailed reports or feedback about their experiences.
See also the resources section of the
Customer Satisfaction Model (requires Premium)
