Practical Guide to Becoming a Mystery Shopper

A mystery shopper (also known as a secret shopper, undercover shopper, shadow shopper, or ghost shopper) is someone who gets paid to play the role of a customer and provide honest and unbiased feedback on their experience.

Why do companies need mystery shoppers?

Secret shopping falls under the broad umbrella of market research. It’s a tool that companies use to evaluate customer satisfaction and identify areas for improvement.

Hiring someone to shop at a location anonymously is one of the most reliable ways to get an accurate impression of a typical shopper’s experience.

According to Mercedes Eckert, founder and president of the mystery shopping organization iShop, “your feedback determines bonuses, raises, terminations, and even improvements to the product or service that the business offers.”

As a mystery shopper, you may be employed by the company itself or by a third-party secret shopping company.

Types of mystery shopping

There are five main types of secret shopping:

• In-person: This is an old-school approach that involves actually visiting physical locations, such as shopping in a brick-and-mortar store, dining in a restaurant, staying in a hotel, or completing other on-site tasks. You may have to take pictures or record videos.
• Telephone: This consists of making calls to a company’s customer service line, one of their outlets, or their call center, and interacting with their employees.
• Email: Sending emails to a company and evaluating their response, or requesting subscriptions and assessing the delivery process.
• Virtual: Reporting your experience with a company’s website or mobile app.
• Hybrid: Assessing all aspects of a customer’s experience by using a combination of mystery shopping approaches, such as in-person and virtual shopping.
• Audits: Checking for a business’s compliance with corporate, state, or federal guidelines. This could be as simple as checking signage, purchasing alcohol or tobacco to see if the employee requests to see your ID, or reporting various merchandise stock keeping units (SKUs).

The reason for these different types of mystery shopping is that companies don’t all operate the same way. Some have physical locations, some are purely virtual, and some offer a varied customer experience across multiple domains.

Mystery shopping is often used by retail stores and restaurants, but it’s also used by:

• Hotels
• Entertainment venues (e.g., movie theaters and concert halls)
• Airlines
• Car dealerships
• Call centers
• Other types of businesses

The best type of secret shopping for you depends on your availability and preferences. The trick is to find a balance between convenience and compensation. We’ll discuss how much mystery shoppers of various types make in more detail below.

What do mystery shoppers do?

Your job description as a mystery shopper can vary widely depending on the type of company you’re working for, what their marketing goals are, and the type of evaluation they’re performing.

Secret shoppers are often asked to do the following things:

• Complete surveys or questionnaires
• Buy products
• Return items
• Take notes on the details (e.g., usability or cleanliness) of an establishment, website, or app
• Interact with employees
• Submit reports or receipts

Your role as a secret shopper is to assess the company’s performance from the perspective of a regular customer, so you may have to simulate a wide range of scenarios.

There are typically no formal job requirements for becoming a mystery shopper—you just need to be 18 years old. This is part of what makes it such a popular side hustle or side job.

You don’t need prior experience or qualifications, although there are secret shopper certifications you can get if you’re truly committed.

As Eckert told us, you don’t even have to apply to become a mystery shopper—you just fill out a contract. “There are no background checks, application reviews, interviews, or drug tests. Once you fill out the contract, you may begin working for the company.”

However, depending on the type of mystery shopping you do, you may need one or more of the following resources:

• Reliable transportation: Ideally, you should have a car, motorcycle, or bicycle that you can use to get to on-site job locations.
• Smartphone: This is especially important if you’re doing mobile app mystery shopping. Some companies also require you to have a smartphone for in-person jobs so you can send location-specific photos.
• Computer: You’ll need to send in reports on your shopping experience, which may involve completing online forms or printing out documents.

Some companies, like Ipsos and Shoppers Confidential, also require you to have a PayPal account so that they can pay you for mystery shopping, although other companies offer to pay through direct deposits into your bank account. 1 2

Desired skills

Just about anyone can become a secret shopper if they’ve got the time to spare, although there are a few basic skills that’ll help you succeed:

• Attention to detail: You need to be able to mentally note small details about your experience that the average shopper wouldn’t notice, such as an employee’s appearance or behavior, your verbal interactions, or the number of staff members on site. JD, a mystery shopper based in New York City who prefers to remain anonymous, told us that “It takes surprisingly little work to improve your observation and memory.” This is a skill you can cultivate while on the job.
• Communication: Basic verbal communication skills are necessary for mystery shopping since you’ll need to interact with employees. You’ll also need written communication skills to write up reports and feedback. JD says being able to describe what happened during your shop is more important than grammar and spelling. “You do not state how you felt or what you think someone meant. Just the facts.”
• Discretion: The key to being a good mystery shopper is in the title—you need to be able to keep your identity and purpose a secret. This means sticking to your script and not drawing attention to yourself.
• Objectivity: Good judgment is a key part of delivering useful feedback. You should be able to recognize good and bad customer service and identify areas for improvement.
• Organization: You may need to keep your receipts for the jobs you do in order to get reimbursed, which is a lot easier to do if you’re an organized person. Being able to make and manage spreadsheets can also help you keep track of your schedule so that you never miss an assignment.

When asked what characteristics mystery shopping companies look for in new recruits, Eckert told us, “you need to be reliable, honest, punctual, and have good writing skills.” As long as you fit this description, you’re good to go.

We also asked JD about this. They told us that negotiation skills are important for long-term success. “Be fair to yourself. Do not do work for less than your time and gas are worth. When I tell a scheduler that I can take 10-20 locations (or more) for a higher rate, they are usually happy to get that approved.”

Negotiating higher pay is much better than dropping assignments, which JD says can make you seem unreliable and jeopardize your chances of getting good assignments in the future.

According to Indeed, mystery shoppers in the US make an average of $15.34 per hour, with a typical salary range of $7.25–$48.56 per hour. 3 However, these figures are derived from a small sample of self-reported salaries. You could find yourself earning much more or less.

Some mystery shoppers don’t even earn any money at all—instead, they just use it as a way to get free food or products.

With that said, Eckert told us that “it is very possible to become a full-time shopper as long as you’re willing to travel.” With a little strategy, you can use it to generate a full-time income to cover all of your living expenses. She stressed that to do this, you need to be willing to devote the time necessary to come up with a proper business plan.

How your niche affects your pay

Of course, your compensation will depend on the type of shopping you do. JD, who’s tried out most types of mystery shopping, told us that telephone shopping has “extremely low” pay, and “retail and restaurants tend to pay the least.”

JD says that video mystery shopping (aka recording videos of your experience) has relatively high pay, but it also has its own unique pros and cons—it requires less writing but more traveling.

These days, JD prefers visiting banks but also recommends gas station mystery shopping for those who want to go on the road full time. “You can net $3k a week and still have time to pick up other shops along the way.” However, JD adds, there is a drawback—“Gas stations require a big investment of time to study a manual of standards.”

According to Eckert, higher-paying mystery shopping jobs are often harder to get and require experience. She recommends doing every type of shop at least once to build up experience and then working your way up to higher-paying shops.

There are plenty of companies out there offering mystery shopping job opportunities, but not all of them are legit or worth applying to. Below are expert tips to help you start making money with secret shopping ASAP and steer clear of false leads.

Know what a mystery shopper scam looks like

Unfortunately, scams are rampant in the mystery shopping industry. Stay away from any company that asks you to do the following, both of which are scams:

• Asking you to buy gift cards: In this scam, you get an email, text, or letter in the mail from a “mystery shopping company” asking you to purchase gift cards and then send them the card numbers.
• Asking you to deposit a check: A “mystery shopping organization” sends you a large check in the mail and asks you to deposit it.

It’s also worth noting that legit mystery shopping organizations generally won’t call or email you out of the blue—you’ll need to submit an application first.

Read online job reviews

To avoid job scams, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommends searching the company’s name online along with the words “scam,” “review,” or “complaint.” 4

Legitimate companies can still have negative reviews, but doing your research can help you spot warning signs before it’s too late.

Bear in mind that some scammers pose as legitimate mystery shopping companies. Just because the company name is real doesn’t mean that the job opportunity isn’t a scam, so keep your guard up even if everything seems to check out.

Know where to find legit mystery shopping companies

The easiest way to make sure you’re signing up for a legitimate secret shopping company is to choose one that’s accredited by the Mystery Shopping Professionals Association (MSPA), which is a trade association representing the mystery shopping industry.

Use the MSPA’s company search tool to find legitimate mystery shopping companies and job opportunities. You can search by location to find secret shopper jobs in your area or search by industry if you’re mainly interested in one particular type of mystery shopping.

Another good option, according to Eckert, is to find jobs through a mystery shopping organization that connects shoppers with legitimate companies. She told us that in addition to helping new shoppers find work, these provide training and ongoing support. (Ecker’s own company, iShop, is an organization like this.)

Apply to jobs at multiple companies

Eckert says you should gradually sign up with as many mystery shopping companies (MSCs) as you can to maximize your earnings. Casting a large net will get you more choices and more opportunities, and it’ll help you find higher-paying jobs.

However, there’s no need to sign up with every company on the MSPA list. JD told us that this is excessive, adding that “I keep my connections organized in a spreadsheet. I could theoretically manage any number. However, I receive more than enough work from a dozen or so companies.”

JD’s approach is to primarily rely on 3–5 companies and then fill in the gaps with jobs posted on mystery shopping job boards.

If you’re looking for a fun side hustle to boost your income and the idea of getting paid to shop, eat, or travel sounds like a dream come true, then secret shopping could be a good fit for you.

However, like all jobs, you should weigh the pros and cons before signing up.

As a side hustle, mystery shopping can help you save a few bucks here and there (or just get free meals and gas) while doing something you enjoy.

Most people don’t try to convert it into a career. According to Eckert, most people who choose to become secret shoppers are supplementing their primary income. She estimates that the average mystery shopper works roughly 15 hours per week.

That said, she emphasized that it’s possible to turn it into a full-time gig with proper planning. Ultimately, what you get out of mystery shopping is determined by what you put into it.