» Merchandising Mystery Shopping

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Merchandising mystery shopping is a different kind of undercover shopping exercise. In fact, it is not really shopping. The shoppers in this case behave like normal shoppers do and they do all the things that a regular shopper would do in a store or business establishment. These undercover shoppers visit the business, ask questions, request for the product portfolio, select items and make purchases. But what is different with these contracted shoppers is that in reality these shoppers are only disguised as normal shoppers. They are actually in the store to evaluate the business and the employees of the company.

After the hidden shopper makes a purchase, his or her job is to jot down a report about his or her entire shopping experience. The shopper might also fill out a questionnaire in order to record the positives and negatives of his or her shopping experience.

Who Hires Mystery Shoppers

Today, undisclosed shopping is widely adopted as an evaluation technique by many stores across the United States. Merchandising shopping is mostly done to determine the level of service provided to the customers so that the same can be improved upon. Contract shoppers are hired by the store itself. They are in charge of verifying aspects like

• Grooming of the employees
• Clean and welcoming surroundings
• Proper display of the entire merchandize
• Knowledge and interest level of the staff

 

Apart from the above the covert shopper also has to report whether the store staff used suggestive selling techniques and phrases like Thank you for coming, hope to see you again soon, Are you interested in this.

Job Responsibilities Of Mystery Shoppers

Besides doing all the above, merchandising mystery shopping also requires the shopper to shop at the competitors stores and report the differences they note between their business and their competitors so that they can make improvements in their business. They monitor the pricing of the different products and also verify whether the business is operating in compliance with the professional and governmental standards.

Some common questions that merchandising shopping seeks answers to are

1. Was the store clean when you entered
2. Were you greeted with a smile
3. Were the shelves clean and well stocked
4. How long did it take to be served
5. Were the wash rooms clean and well equipped
6. Did the service personnel inform you about the available contracts and schemes
7. Was the cashier warm in returning the change to you
8. Would you visit the store again and if yes what changes would you expect the store to undertake

 

Disguised shoppers are the ears and eyes of a business owner. They do all that the owner might not have the time to do on his own. Moreover when the shopper is disguised as a usual shopper he can come up with non biased opinion about the store where he shopped in. It is the job of the mystery shopper to tell the business owner whether or not his employees are living up to the set service standards and are following the rules or not.

Use Of Mystery Shopping Information

Information gathered from merchandising shopping and its related data are used for

• Identifying training deficiencies.
• Rewarding deserving employees.
• Increasing the security and safety aspects for the employees as well as the customers.
• Performance evaluations and pay outs to employees.

 

It is incorrect to say that mystery shoppers are always in search for the wrong. The job of the mystery shopper is to report the good as well as the bad aspects of a company.  Merchandising mystery shopping provides an objective view of the business operations so that the business owner can set the wrong right.

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Merchandising is the process when one takes a product from a company and sells it to the customers. Here it may be seen that the company which produces the product is not directly involved in the selling process. This may be due to the practice of the company or the company not getting a good foothold to sell the product itself. Sometimes the company wants to sell its product at an outlet where similar products are sold to make sure that their product does not get ignored. This ignorance is the worst nightmare of the companies and just for this reason they appoint special shoppers to do merchandising mystery shopping .

The companies which are manufacturing the merchandise use the various retail self storage stores to sell the products and obviously they want the customers to get their products ahead of others. Merchandising mystery shopping is all about this. The companies send in special shoppers to see if this thing is being taken care of. Like in regular special shopping the shoppers maintain their anonymity while visiting the stores and watcSh everything about the merchandise. They observe whether it is being displayed properly to whether people are being introduced to the products. This report is what the manufacturers or producers eagerly wait for as this gives a picture of their business.

In merchandising mystery shopping the shopper first looks after the display of the merchandise. This is very important as the first look that the customer gets of a product often creates the best impression and of ten the customer leaves with it. This impression is all for which the companies are paying the special shopping agencies and in turn the shoppers. They observe where the products are displayed and why. Sometimes the products are not displayed in a catchy position because they might not be living up to the reputation of the retail store. As it has been told that the first impression is very important both for the merchant as well as the store, any product that does not attract customers is not displayed properly.

This can mean alarm bells for the manufacturer. A negative feed back from merchandising mystery shopping means that the time is ripe for improvement. Any neglect at this stage will mean wrapping up the business soon. Sometimes this is not the cause and the retailer simply ignores that articles and place them at a such a place that people hardly notices and the report is that the product is not selling well. They often try to sell those products that give them a good margin in profit. But as per contract he might be bound to give the product of the manufacturer a prominence like any other product. Such anomalies are the areas that the merchandising mystery shopping is done for.

Sometimes the companies manufacturing the merchandise appoint people to look after the sale of their product at the retail stores. As this person is not under direct supervision of the employer, there is a chance that they might be neglecting their duty. They may also not be the right person for the job or they are not experienced enough. The merchandising mystery shopping reveals these all and provides a first hand inspection report from a person who could have been a customer of the goods. The effectiveness of special shopping proves in this case also.

Mystery Secret Shoppers

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