Mystery shops are under-used

I couldn’t agree more with Mark Artus in his Saturday Essay. As price parity among retailers becomes the norm, the in-store experience and service offering will mark the degrees of separation.

That said, it shouldn’t just be about developing exciting promotional concepts, or product dilution with ever-expanding variant offerings. Basics like staff training must also be addressed.

An underused technique that helps retailers identify areas for improvement is mystery shopping. It not only gives an accurate picture of performance, but also identifies the hidden heroes in the business. Here’s hoping the grocers reintroduce it and don’t just rely on The Grocer to do it for them.

Julia Collis, MD, Bailey Group