Fashion retail is one area where Mystery Shopping has been used for the longest, and to great effect – in “bricks and mortar” retail stores.
Fashion retail involves, very often, purchases that aren’t essential. If the circumstances and environment are right, a customer can buy things that they didn’t intend to, or spend many times more than they intended. Conversely, if the circumstances or environment aren’t right, customers can simply leave and abort a purchase that they had fully intended to make.
Store presentation, store layout, and merchandising are all key aspects, along with customer service and often the advice and assistance that is provided by store staff. In many cases, staff can have an enormous impact on whether a customer buys anything, and on the ultimate value of the transaction.
All of these aspects can be effectively monitored using Mystery Shopping.
Example businesses and situations
Retailers of fashion, clothing and accessories (“bricks and mortar”), and online, phone and mail-order operations.
How is Mystery Shopping used and what are the potential benefits?
In-person, report-based Mystery Shopping and Video Mystery Shopping in this industry can help monitor standards of store presentation, customer service, product knowledge, and staff sales activity in-store.
Key areas that a programme can monitor include the effective identification of customer needs, whether relevant core products are recommended, whether appropriate add-ons are recommended, and overall levels of customer service.
By enabling retailers to gain a real “customer’s eye” view on store standards, they can identify strong performance, and identify and address weaknesses quickly.
If you would like to discuss the possibility of Mystery Shopping for a fashion retail business, please don’t hesitate to contact us.