8 Mystery Shopping KPIs to Understand Business PerformanceMedium to large Retail Store Audit for companies employ mystery shoppers to shape their companies and highlight areas where the company could improve its serves and product range, but who are these mysterious people and how do they help. If you have ever stood in a queue at the tills and noticed someone with a few handwritten notes regarding the store’s cleanliness and stock availability, or timing sales transactions on their phone, then you may well have seen a mystery shopper.
A mystery shopper is someone who is paid to visit the store covertly, observe and record their findings, and report back to senior management about how well the store is running. They behave like normal shoppers and are exposed pot the same experiences, but they pay more attention and provide feedback.
The Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) estimate that there are around 50,000 mystery shopping trips carried out in the UK every month and, far from just highlighting problems, they give valuable feedback. But are you getting the best from your mystery shoppers? What KPI’s should you be directing them towards?
Engagement.
A fundamental in any shop – do the store staff approach potential customers and seek to be of assistance? Of course, not all customers want to be approached and in these times of COVID, some may actively rebuff it, but engagement can be a simple as a smile and a nod when the customer enters. A good mystery shopper should look for this and note it. This also links to;
Average response time.
If a customer starts to show a good level of interest in a particular product, how long does it take a member of staff to try and bring them to a sale?
Rapport building.
Once the sales assistant has engaged the customer, do they then really connect with the customer and drive the sale, but in a friendly and good-natured way? People are more likely to buy from a friendly face than an indifferent one.
Knowledge of product range.
Your staff may have specialist areas within the store but they should have a reasonable working knowledge of all stock, or at least lead the customer to someone who does know.
Overall service.
A mystery shopper will be trained to evaluate the entire sales process from when they first enter the store to when they finally leave with their purchaser. The feedback from your transactions can be used to highlight training areas.
Stock Level consistency.
No one notices stock levels like customers and that can lead to a decision not to shop in your store. Let your mystery shopper spot these things before proper paying customers do.
Hygiene and cleanliness.
Ever more important in these times, you may think that you are doing enough to prevent the transmission of COVID and other nasty’s but your customers might disagree. Your mystery shopper will let you know.
Comparison with competitors.
Your mystery shoppers can be used as low-level industrial spies, and can apply the same criteria to your local competitors too. As well as using mystery shoppers to measure the performance of your competitors as well as your own. In that way you can measure how well you are doing, and highlight areas which need attention.
KPI’s are incredibly important to a business since they indicate areas of a business that are working well and those where training or more resources may be required. Use them and make your business one of the best.
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