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mystery shopping for Ecommerce

January 10, 2023 02:13AM
Hi shoppers!

I'm doing research about mystery shopping and hope to get some thoughts on the following or in general in regards to mystery shopping specifically for Ecommerce.

There's much less activity in regards to online mystery shopping than I figured there'd be. I wonder why this is the case. Any thoughts? This is what I can come up with:

There's less demand from companies for online mystery shopping services because:
- Online product reviews provides feedback that isn't available to brick and mortar businesses without using a mystery shopping service.
- A big chunk of the mystery shopping market is from franchisors checking if their franchisees abide by the franchise agreements' rules and standards which doesn't apply for online businesses.
- The big ecom marketplaces do customer experience management in-house.

Curious to learn your thoughts about this and about gigs specifically for online shopping.
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January 10, 2023 02:58AM
Why are you doing this research? Are you a shopper yourself? Are you a college student in a marketing (?) class? Are you a professor working on a paper or a proposal? Presumably you are you aware of the WIFM acronym and principle? I need to ask WIFM to answer your questions.

Shopping South Jersey, Southeast Pennsylvania, and Delaware above the canal since 2008
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January 10, 2023 03:44AM
I indeed should have included this. Thanks for pointing this out.

I'm doing an intensive coding course and am looking for a final project to build. My wife is an avid mystery shopper and when I asked her if she mystery shops online she answered that that'll take away all the fun as she's doing it because she enjoys it mostly, but I can see online mystery shopping being more effective for those who primarily seek getting paid. I've asked in communities of online retailers and they appear to be willing to pay to learn what stands out for buyers when comparing their products' to competitors'. Now I'm "researching" the shopper side of it.

WIFY? Helping and having a hand in shaping this and if it sees the light of day having another place to shop.
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January 10, 2023 05:15AM
There are already online mystery shops.

As well as phone call, app and e-mail mystery shops and combinations of all the above.
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January 10, 2023 07:04AM
There is probably a source at the Mystery Shopping Provider Association (I've forgotten the official name) who can give you an idea of how large the e-commerce sector is relative to the brick-and-mortar sector. There are shoppers who ONLY do e-commerce work, and many of the MS companies famous for their BAM shops actually seem to have more e-commerce shops at times than BAM.
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January 10, 2023 09:58PM
The big ecom marketplaces do customer experience management in-house.
^^I think this is the biggest reason. Every website, call center, etc wants you to take a survey after your interaction.

I have done some online shops though.
Examples:
-Purchase and returns (I evaluated the packaging it came in, if the delivery came when it said it would, if it was correct and on the return end of it, if the system emailed me updates and if my refund was properly credited).
-Evaluating website ease of use
-Price comparison and page placement of specific search terms for two major ecommerce retailers
-Submitting an inquiry and seeing how quickly you receive a response.

Some retailers might value the in person experience more - did the cashier greet you properly, did you get upsold on something, was the store in good condition, were employees dressed and behaving appropriately, etc?
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January 11, 2023 02:55AM
Thanks Susan. I contacted the MSPA who confirmed that companies were doing ecommerce but that I'd have to contact these to get info about services, which I did, but no responses so far which makes sense from an WIFM POV.

I just find it interesting that when I look at this forum and Reddit that I can't find much talk about ecommerce gigs. Possibly because they're more straightforward and less to discuss about. But still, when scanning communities most talk appears to be about real life gigs.

Thanks for sharing Joanna. Very helpful. Any thoughts on what the top companies are that offer ecommerce gigs? I'd like to sign up as a shopper.
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January 11, 2023 12:35PM
@spa wrote:

Any thoughts on what the top companies are that offer ecommerce gigs? I'd like to sign up as a shopper.

Saw that coming. Think you'll have to figure that one out on your own. Not too much spoon feeding going on around here.
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January 11, 2023 12:45PM
It seems e-commerce mystery shops are scattered amongst a variety of companies. I don't remember who I've done some website reviews for. They were car dealerships.

When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.
Alexander Den Heijer
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January 11, 2023 02:59PM
The companies all vary. The company that used to do ecommerce comparison shopping was North Fork Research. They were then re-branded or bought out (idk) as Bzzagent, which still has a mystery shopping link on their website, but if you click on it, it says that they are no longer active.
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