Do you have a field team across all of Australia?

Yes! We have a field team of over 10,000 in both metropolitan and regional areas across Australia and New Zealand.

How much does Mystery Shopping cost?

The cost of a Mystery Shopping program depends on a variety of things - the length of the survey, what the Mystery Shopper will be asked to do, whether an initial phone call is required, if a purchase is required, how many assessments will be conducted, the number of stores you have and so on. Simply get in touch with your requirements and project scope and we will take it from there.

I don’t have bricks and mortar stores. How can I utilise Mystery Shopping?

We measure the customer experience no matter how this interaction occurs. Our Mystery Shoppers can report on Live Chat, Email exchanges, Phone/Call Centre conversations, Click and Collect, Home Delivery, and App interactions. We will tailor the Mystery Shopping survey based on your e-commerce platform and requirements. If it can be experienced, we have measured it!

Can Mystery Shopping provide us with competitor intelligence?

Definitely. We are able to Mystery Shop your competitors whether that be on a global basis or the store across the road. Being aware of your competition’s product, services, prices and customer experience levels, and then benchmarking your performance against this intel allows for a better understanding of your potential market share.

Can the Mystery Shoppers take photos?

Can they ever! Mystery shoppers can inconspicuously take pictures of anything from merchandise stands to the coffee that was just delivered. This photo can be displayed in individual reports as well as grouped collectively in Management Dashboard Media Galleries.

Do you do ID Checks?

Yes, we do! We are able to selectively offer assignments to mystery shoppers who are aged 18 – 25, perfect if you need to ensure your staff are asking customers for proof of age, whether it’s for alcohol, tobacco or gaming regulations.

Our previous Mystery Shopping program wasn’t very well received by staff. What can we do to make a new program more engaging and motivating for our teams?

A variety of initiatives can be incorporated to increase employee engagement, depending on the type of business and Mystery shopping program you have. A Communication program effectively communicating the program expectations, along with a well thought out Reward and Recognition program often improves staff engagement - a little bit of praise goes a long way! We find a well-designed Mystery Shopping program that effectively evaluates the core policies and procedures is a great start. We can help you by creating a bespoke program that resonates with staff and is based on your business and its brand values.

What are the key differences between Mystery Shopping and Retail Auditing?

Good question. The fundamental difference between Mystery Shopping and Retail Auditing is that Mystery Shoppers remain anonymous and under-cover, whereas Auditor’s announce themselves and conduct their evaluation of the business operations openly, enabling Auditors to check items that a mystery shopper may not be able to see or have time to evaluate. Depending on the number of items being checked, Audits can take from 15 minutes to several hours to complete, whereas most mystery shopping surveys take from 10 – 30 minutes in-store.

We have our Field Managers doing retail audit checks. Could this be replaced by your auditing service?

Yes. Allowing our Auditors to take on your audit checks frees up Area Managers to focus on business building activities. Let us take on the admin, travel and precious time that comes with Auditing and provide you with insightful management reports that provide an objective review.

We already have a Voice of the Customer program. Do we need to do Mystery Shopping as well?

Think of the Voice of the Customer program as one side of the coin and Mystery Shopping as the other. Whilst Voice of the Customer programs assess customer satisfaction levels and loyalty levels of actual customers, Mystery Shopping allows for an in the moment snapshot of your business to ensure staff are delivering on the brand promise. Our shoppers have been briefed on your standards and expected levels of service and will give feedback accordingly. Voice of the Customer and Mystery Shopping programs are two services that perfectly complement and support each other.

Can Mystery Shopping give us an NPS score?

Mystery Shopping is not a valid methodology to measure NPS but if you are keen to find out your Net Promoter Score, talk to us about how. We have a variety of methods we use to calculate a Net Promoter Score. Get in touch for more information.

What’s the difference between Mystery Shopping and Field Agent?

Want a super quick, cost effective grab at real-time data by consumers – Field Agent is exactly what you’re looking for. Mystery Shopping is a more extensive and planned research project, where Shoppers have been trained and briefed on your specific guidelines and branding. Both have their place (sometimes this is running alongside each other), which is suited to you would depend on your budget, research scope and objectives.

What about social media, can you track that?

Not only can we monitor, report on and analyse social media from over 100 sources (including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Yelp, Trip Advisor and Google) we can also prompt you to respond to reviews as they arise. Why be constantly monitoring multiple sites and sources when we can streamline and analyse your social media presence through one, easy platform?

What sectors use Mystery Shopping?

While mystery shopping is often thought of in relation to the retail sector, many different sectors use Mystery Shoppers to evaluate the customer experience, from Energy and Utility companies to Banking and Finance to Call Centre operators and service industries like Aged Care. At The Realise Group we have worked with clients from a wide range of industries, if you have customers, we can help you evaluate your customer experience!