Mystery shopping can be shrouded in, well, mystery. How does it work? How much does it pay? How do I become a mystery shopper? John Fitzsimons tried his hand at shopping in secret, and here's how it went.
Sections
How do I become a mystery shopper?
Where can I shop?
Once you are set up and registered, you can take a look at the various assignments available in your local area. Then it’s a case of working out which job would appeal to you, and what you can expect to make from it.
Sadly, my town has rather slim pickings when it comes to mystery shopping assignments; I can basically take my pick between a trip to a betting shop or nipping down to Greggs for some breakfast.
However, if you’re willing to pop into the car and head further afield, there are some more exciting jobs on offer. For example, I could drive 20-minutes round the M25 and be a mystery shopper at Harry Ramsdens fish and chip shop, or for a slightly longer drive there are also assignments in H. Samuel, Ernest Jones and Bathstore.
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What will I need to do?
With each job posting, it will be made clear what you’ll be paid, as well as what money will be reimbursed for any purchases in the store. The sums here are generally pretty small - breakfast in Greggs will net you £2.50, as well as up to £5 reimbursed for your spending, for example.
Each job has assignment notes, which go on for a couple of pages. Yes, really. These will set out exactly what is expected of you and what you should be looking for. You’ll need a good memory too - you may be expected to note down names of any staff you interact with, and describe their appearance.
Once you pick an assignment that you want to go for, you’ll need to answer some questions based on the assignment notes - you have to make sure that you have read and understood those notes, as it’s very easy to trip up here. You will need to confirm exactly what day you will be carrying out the job too.
Keeping it a secret
How much could I make a year?
You aren’t going to get rich as a mystery shopper. If all goes smoothly, I’ll be getting a whopping £2 on top of the reimbursement of my £3 bet. Given the time taken getting there and back, and then writing up the report, it isn’t exactly a great return.
That said, if you are looking to supplement your income and can combine mystery shopping with your usual habits - popping into a selected store on your commute for example - then it’s worth a try at least.
Market Force’s press team told me that more frequent mystery shoppers earn as much as a whopping £2,000 per year.
However, the spokesperson added: “It’s not typically a full-time job, but more so a hobby and a way to get free items that one might purchase anyhow. That said, Market Force Information has weekly, fortnightly and monthly shops across a variety of sectors, so plenty to keep its mystery shoppers busy.”
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