A mystery shopping programme has many benefits for retailers, but to my way of thinking the top benefit is to provide actionable feedback on Loss Prevention.
There of course an immediate, obvious loss when stock is stolen, but there is a second, very common, less obvious type of loss. It’s the loss when customers walk out without being served. Not only is sales revenue lost, but also a proportion of location cost (rent) and marketing expense which brought the customer to the store in the first place.
Notwithstanding the use of electronic tags and store surveillance systems, thieves who are acknowledged are less likely to steal because they have been noticed. And of course the last thing a thief wants is prompt service. On the other hand honest customers do want to be acknowledged and served within a reasonable time.
Just yesterday morning one of our mystery shoppers roamed around a store for nine minutes without the staff showing any interest. One was playing around on a computer at the front counter; the other was fiddling with stock. Both were apparently oblivious to the shopper and the four customers who were there at the time.
Nine minutes. Plenty of time for a crook to steal. And more than enough time to annoy a waiting customer.
Acknowledgement and prompt service are two of the most effective weapons in both types of loss prevention. This means that, arguably the two most important measurements in a mystery shopping report are…
Time to acknowledge the mystery shopper and…
Time to serve the mystery shopper
In the current economic downturn, as shop stealing becomes more common and paying customers less common, it will pay to keep a close eye on your acknowledgement and service times.