Mystery Shopper Definition

A mystery shopper is an individual hired by a company to shop undercover as a normal consumer. The mystery shopper is not allowed to reveal that they are, in fact, a mystery shopper.

Job Function

Mystery shoppers complete tasks assigned by their employer such as product purchases, asking questions of the employees or behaving in certain ways to report the staff's reactions. The mystery shopper will then give the feedback report to her employer.

Special Tasks

Sometimes a mystery shopper will be asked to take photographs, measurements, inventory count or a consumer count. The mystery shopper may also be asked to use a timer and record the time it takes to complete a specific task.

Locations

Most mystery shoppers are hired to shop at retail stores, large restaurants, small restaurants, fast-food places, banks, Convenience stores, malls, health clubs, hospitals, theaters and home improvement stores.

Fraud

There are a lot of scams claiming to hire people to become mystery shoppers. Many times this company will require the worker to cash a bad check and wire the money through a MoneyGram machine back to the company and keep a portion for himself. You should be aware of these scams so that you do not get caught up in one.

Validation

Valid companies do not send clients any form of payment before the work has been completed. The company will have a contact person's name and telephone number on its advertisements.