Retail Mystery Shopping and Customer Experience Research Case Studies - Confero Inc.
Sometimes, you need to know quickly if something is not going well. Our marketing agency client was responsible for monitoring the merger of two national consumer electronics brands and orchestrating the accompanying national resets of the re-branded, merged products. No small task. Confero was engaged to conduct audits to ensure that electronics stores were displaying a correct point of purchase materials associated with the merged, re-branded products in advance of a national advertising campaign..
Confero engaged field auditors to telephone audit over 2,000 stores located throughout the U.S within a 3 day time period. The auditors spoke with the managers and asked if the store had received and placed the required materials in end cap displays. They also asked if the stores received related promotional gift cards. For quality assurance purposes, Confero recorded the calls and listened to them prior to releasing the results to the client. Stores with deficiencies of POP inventory or those experiencing delays or missing parts were reported to the client immediately. Confero collected, reported and conveyed the information on all locations on time, and our client was able to deliver missing materials quickly and within the promotional time frame.
This entire project, start to finish, took 5 days.
A leading jewelry brand was concerned that its pricing and display requirements at retail stores were not being met. As a leading premium brand, it was extremely important that its pricing guidelines be met and that the product never be discounted. Confero was asked to send mystery shoppers to specific jewelry stores to assess product placement and to ensure that the products were not being discounted during the sales process. Results are used to renegotiate relationships with jewelry store chains and to determine which firms will be allowed to sell the product.
A regional grocery store chain was concerned about what factors were contributing to longer than normal checkout times. While their service was excellent, there was no measure of the extraneous factors that contributed to longer checkout time, nor was any anecdotal information being collected about these factors. Confero assisted with the development of a series of mystery shopper survey questions specifically designed to elicit wait time increments and observations from shoppers. The results over the next six months provided management with key baseline information as well as the key factors that were negatively impacting the checkout times.
A leading convenience store chain approached Confero about alcohol and tobacco compliance issues. To ensure compliance with all laws, the chain wanted Confero to send shoppers under age 30 to its units to buy alcohol and tobacco products. Confero recruited shoppers within the age range and dispatched them to specific locations to attempt these purchases. Shoppers who were asked for ID gave the employees a pre-printed note of thanks. Those who did not ask for ID were presented with materials on how to perform better next time. The result is that more of this client's stores remain in legal compliance than before and the public good has been served.