You may have heard the term “mystery shopper” or “secret shopper” before, but have you ever wondered what exactly someone in this role does or how to become a secret shopper? By definition, this type of worker is hired by a company to pose as a customer in order to evaluate a business’s customer experience.
Here’s a look at everything you need to know about mystery shoppers, including pay, benefits, expectations, and what to watch out for.
It’s easy money
Being a secret shopper is as simple as it sounds: You get paid to shop. No certifications needed. Applications for this type of position state that pay is either an hourly rate or by the number of stores visited. You are expected to spend your own money to purchase items from stores, but there’s usually a stipend amount that you can get reimbursed for.
Secret shopping gigs can range from retail stores to restaurants so you could also find yourself in a scenario where you get paid to eat. According to SecretShopper.com, for some restaurants, the payment may be to reimburse you for the cost of a meal for two. The payment in each situation is explained before you agree to do the shop.
Paycheck amounts range from "$5.00 to $25.00 for a 15- to 60-minute engagement," according to Matt Wozniak, President & CEO of National Shopping Service. For most, mystery shopping is a part-time gig, but Wozniak says, “We have had a few earning over $40,000 a year. It's a great way to pick up a free pizza on your way to get the kids from soccer or get some free gasoline."
One thing to keep in mind is that as a mystery shopper, you’re considered an independent contractor, meaning you’ll be responsible for reporting income come tax time. A benefit here is you can consider mystery shopping self-employment, allowing you to deduct expenses so make sure to keep track of costs.
It’s a time commitment
While being a secret shopper seems like an easy job and a quick way to earn money, it is a time-consuming task. You can spend anywhere from minutes to hours to days to get the full experience you need to report on. Moreover, after each interaction, you are required to fill out a survey in order to evaluate whether the company provided you with a good experience. It’s not as simple as filling out a multiple-choice survey as some companies require a detailed response and employee identifications to reference feedback.
It’s anonymous
When I was in college, I used to work a desk job checking people in and out of one of the dorms and the residence life program asked a few students to pose in a secret shopper type role by reporting back on how we performed during our shifts. While we knew this was happening, we had no way of knowing who was being paid to evaluate our performance, which forced us to always be on top of everything. In retail stores or restaurants, the sales associates have no idea if a particular customer is real or not so you really do remain a mystery.
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When you become a secret shopper, you always remain anonymous—you don’t tell the employee at the end who you are. The goal is to evaluate a company’s employees to see how they interact daily and handle different situations. As a secret shopper, you could be asked to behave a certain way or buy a particular item and then report back on how the situation was handled.
Requirements vary
Mystery shoppers can be used for any industry meaning the requirements vary for each application. Most positions require individuals be at least 18 years old. However, some mystery shops require the purchase of age sensitive products such as alcohol or tobacco, requiring the mystery shopper to be at least 21 years old. Most mystery shopper assignments require you to provide your own transportation as well.
Be cautious
While this seems like a job that might be too good to be true, in some cases, it might be. There are a lot of scam sites out there pretending to hire for this role so it’s important to deal directly with a reputable company before signing up for a gig like this.
One red flag to be wary of is that you should never pay money to be a secret shopper. A legitimate company is not going to charge you a fee to sign up or fill out an application.
The Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) is a global organization dedicated to measuring and managing customer experience in the marketplace. This is probably the best resource out there for finding a legitimate position as a secret shopper. On their site you can learn a bit more about secret shoppers, check for scam sites, and search for shopping assignments from member companies.
The Federal Trade Commission warns potential mystery shoppers of scams that trick applicants into sharing bank account information or sending a check in as part of the application process as well. The FTC also suggests applicants should not respond to companies that try to recruit mystery shoppers by email or through classified ads and to never wire money as part of a mystery shopping assignment.
