How To Become A Mystery Shopper And Make Easy Money In 2024
Is it time for you to learn how to become a mystery shopper? It better is:
Mystery shopping is a legitimate job you can do online and offline to earn money and supplement your budget. Also known as secret shopping, this part-time job is an excellent way to earn cash without working too hard.
A mystery shopper is an independent contractor who visits physical or online locations and performs different tasks. The type of tasks you must complete depends on the needs of the business that hires you.
For instance, offline mystery shopping jobs might entail arriving at a store, purchasing a product, and evaluating your overall experience.
Meanwhile, online secret shopping often requires visiting a website, buying an item to test it, and providing feedback on customer support.
As you can see, mystery shopping can be a new weekend job you can benefit from while spending time at local businesses, or it might become a well-paying online job you do to increase your monthly earnings.
Today, I’ll reveal the process of becoming a mystery shopper, where to find legitimate secret shopping jobs, which mystery shopping companies to join, and how to avoid scams in the industry.
How To Become A Mystery Shopper And Get Paid
What Is A Mystery Shopper?
Contrary to the common opinion, a mystery shopper is not just someone who gets paid to shop – the job entails more than that:
Also known as a secret shopper, a mystery shopper is a worker who provides services to local businesses for cash and other rewards.
Mystery shoppers receive compensation for evaluating different aspects of any business’s performance, such as customer service, client experience, etc.
How Does Mystery Shopping Work?
Generally, mystery shoppers must perform different tasks, depending on the business that hires them. Overall, here is what to expect, regardless of the specific type of shopper you agree to be:
Each mystery shopper should behave like a regular customer of a business. Those workers receive tasks to complete and instructions to follow in advance.
For instance, a business hiring a mystery shopper must demand specific actions once the shopping occurs. These actions might be asking for advice, recommending what to buy, etc.
Once the mystery shopper evaluates various aspects of the customer experience, they must provide in-depth feedback to their employer. The employer will then use the feedback to identify business areas that need improvement or enhance clients’ overall experience.
Many industries use the services of mystery shoppers, like hospitality (hence the restaurant and retail store visits) or healthcare (the feedback on any health insurance).
What Tasks Do I Have To Do As A Mystery Shopper?
Let’s discuss the tasks you’ll most likely have to perform before I show you how to become a mystery shopper:
As mentioned earlier, each mystery shopping assignment might differ from the next. Besides, two types of secret shopper jobs exist – online and in-person.
In-person mystery shopper jobs require visiting a physical location and completing specific tasks before constructing valuable feedback.
When mystery shoppers arrive at the place, they should ask different questions to help them form an opinion. Possible questions to ask or actions to take are demanding assistance from a staff member to check the quality of service or purchasing an item.
Taking pictures is another common practice in the mystery shopping industry – you should prepare to do that while keeping your retail eyes open to the fullest!
What about online mystery shopping jobs? They might include visiting a website, buying a product, and interacting with the client service department as an average customer.
In addition, phone mystery shopping jobs tend to evaluate the customer experience telephone operatives provide.
Offline Mystery Shopping Tasks
- Notice if the staff follows the necessary hygiene protocols and procedures
- Purchase an item
- Behave as new shoppers seeking assistance
- Take pictures or participate in video mystery shopping
- Conduct surveys to gather info about employee satisfaction
- Evaluate overall customer experience
Online Mystery Shopping Tasks
- Visit a site to make a purchase
- Engage with customer support via phone or chat
- Produce a complaint
- Test products
How Much Money Do Mystery Shoppers Make?
Pay rate must be on your mind while researching how to become a mystery shopper:
Will you earn enough to quit your current full-time job? Does mystery shopping offer the same monetary compensation as the highest-paying remote jobs?
One thing is sure – you will make enough extra cash to justify your time and effort. But how much would that be?
Your earnings depend on the mystery shopping assignment you accept and the tasks you must perform.
According to Indeed, mystery shoppers in the United States make up to $33 an hour. Certified members of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association earn up to $250 per assignment.
How Do I Get Paid As A Mystery Shopper?
Some secret shoppers prefer to sign an independent contractor agreement, while others don’t see that as necessary.
Since a wide variety of mystery shopping gigs exist, your payments will vary from one job to another. Here are the available options:
- Cash
- Reimbursement
- Cash & Reimbursement
Sometimes, you will get a free meal instead of extra money – that would be the case if your mystery shopping assignment sends you to a restaurant.
What other establishments you might have to visit? See the examples below:
- Coffee shops
- Retail stores/grocery stores
- Salons
- Movie theaters
- A car dealership or even a law firm
Generally, a mystery shopper receives earnings via a direct deposit, check, gift card, or PayPal. The client payment doesn’t affect the time window for getting your mystery shopping income.
I should mention that some mystery shopping platforms require a background check on potential workers. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to research the common mystery shopping scams to avoid wasting your time.
How To Become A Mystery Shopper From Home
1) Register As A Mystery Shopper
More often than not, becoming a mystery shopper is an easy process:
All you have to do is visit the websites of mystery shopping companies and register today.
Expect to fill out a registration form where you provide some personal information about yourself. As mentioned earlier, you may have to sign an agreement as well.
2) Become A Research Participant
Anyone who wants to work within the Service Evaluation industry will get the job title of research participant. What does this mean?
It means you’ll operate as such once you fill out the necessary registration forms and sign an independent contractor agreement to join a company’s database as a mystery shopper.
3) Apply For A Mystery Shopping Job
Whether you choose to look for a job through a mystery shopping app or company, the application process is the same:
Find an available gig, pick any listing you like, and click on Request. You won’t have to wait long to hear from the mystery shopping company and learn if they approve you for the job.
4) Complete The Mystery Shopping Gig To Get Paid
That final stage doesn’t need in-depth coverage:
Once you complete the mystery gig you choose to accept, wait to receive your earnings. Meanwhile, you can tell family members or friends about your new money-making hobby in case they need to boost their income, too!
Overall, mystery shopping is a great side job for almost anyone since you can do it on your own hours. Such a job is the perfect working opportunity for college students:
It’s a fun way to earn extra income while in college and pay off some student loans.
However, the job is not for housewives and stay-at-home moms who don’t have the time to visit and evaluate the shopping experience at different establishments.
Other Well-Paying Freelance Positions You May Like:
Best Mystery Shopping Companies To Join
1) Market Force
Market Force is probably the first company you’ll stumble upon once you start researching how to become a mystery shopper:
The company name speaks for itself at this point.
Nowadays, the Market Force has nearly 500,000 members who are getting paid to do different offline and work-at-home jobs.
Once you join the site, you won’t need to wait long to find an available mystery shopping position. To earn a little bit of money, ensure you complete the task before its due date.
2) Intouch Insight
Many might see Intouch Insight as the better place to find well-paying mystery shopping gigs:
Hundreds of popular brands use the site to hire mystery shoppers who will give them valuable feedback on customer experience.
Intouch Insight relies on different third-party tools to ensure the best quality of services to clients and workers.
Assuming you decide to pick this company from available shops, you will be able to earn money without disrupting your personal schedule.
3) Assosia
Assosia is a lesser-known website offering mystery shopping gigs at many complete shops. Why should you join it?
Most available jobs are easy to complete and won’t take much of your time. They don’t pay much, but will allow you to earn extra cash when you have time to spare!
Expect assignments that often require evaluating customer service instead of purchasing products and testing them to offer feedback.
4) Tern
Tern employs over 20,000 mystery shoppers. That alone should be enough to let you know how many secret shopper gigs are available through the platform:
It might be hard to believe, but Tern can become your favorite mystery shopping company once you see how well the jobs pay. Furthermore, Tern provides options for video mystery shopping activities:
These pay even better than the ordinary ones!
5) Clickworker
Clickworker is a well-known job board that allows users to earn extra money by completing short tasks. Members can get paid to watch videos, click on ads, and do other activities they can complete quickly.
But did you know that Clickworker offers mystery shopping gigs as well?
More often than not, the available jobs require visiting physical locations in your area and taking pictures for money.
You can choose which shops to go to, and there is no need to purchase products. Payments are available via PayPal and bank transfer.
6) Mystery Dining
How do you feel about a mystery shopping gig that won’t pay you with money but with free meals instead?
People can get paid to eat once they join Mystery Dining. That company takes care of its mystery shoppers:
Expect Mystery Dining to provide free meal opportunities and sometimes to pay for your travel expenses. It’s not exactly a chance to get paid to travel, but still!
On that note, Mystery Dining has high expectations for its workers. Avoid being rejected by the company by taking extra time to work on your application.
7) BestMark
Is there someone unfamiliar with BestMark? I would be surprised if the company hasn’t popped up during your research of how to become a mystery shopper:
BestMark is one of the largest platforms constantly hiring mystery shoppers. The company was founded in 1986 and has been operating steadily ever since.
All available mystery shopping gigs will pay you with cash, free meals, or services you can enjoy. Secret shoppers can increase their earnings by referring friends and loved ones to the site.
How To Become A Mystery Shopper FAQs
What Skills Do You Need To Be A Mystery Shopper?
All the best shoppers have the following skills:
- Good communication skills
- Attention to detail
- Decent writing skills to help them put their shopping experience on paper
- An ability to complete any given task on time
- Honesty and accuracy
Do Mystery Shoppers Keep What They Buy?
Some mystery shopping gigs will allow you to keep the items you purchase while doing the job:
It depends on the mystery shopping agreement you signed when accepting the gig.
Mystery shoppers often receive freebies besides the pay rate a company pays them, such as free meals, makeup, clothing items, and even free oil changes.
Is It Safe To Be A Mystery Shopper?
Unfortunately, many scams operate in the mystery shopping industry. How can you protect yourself and your interests while searching for jobs at secret shops?
Firstly, you should never give money upfront to get a mystery shopping gig – all legitimate companies in the field are free to join.
Secondly, be careful if a platform offers you lots of cash for a simple mystery shopping gig. While mystery shopping will allow you to boost your income, these jobs can’t replace your full-time occupation.
An easy way to check a mystery shopping company’s legitimacy is to look at the Better Business Bureau. See the star rating and what others say about it to avoid get-rich-quick schemes and scams.
Which Mystery Shopping Company Pays The Best?
These days, Market Force and BestMark are two of the best mystery shopper companies you can join to find a suitable gig.
At the time of writing, they offer the highest-paying mystery shopping assignments you can secure as a freelancer and independent contractor.
Can You Make A Living As A Mystery Shopper?
Generally, mystery shopping is a fun way to earn money when you need it urgently, but it won’t pay you enough to quit your full-time job.
Still, mystery shopping has many advantages, like working on your own schedule and receiving freebies plus the agreed-upon payment.
Can You Be A Mystery Shopper Online?
Anyone who wants to learn how to become a mystery shopper will be glad to know that the job is available online:
Online mystery shoppers have different duties since they don’t have to visit physical locations to complete assignments.
For instance, remote secret shoppers might have to visit a website, purchase a product, test it, and provide written feedback about their experience.
In addition, they can also share their thoughts on the quality of online customer service, support, and the level of attention to the customer.
My Closing
There is nothing else to say in today’s article:
You should know how to become a mystery shopper and what the process entails now.
Again, mystery shopping offers an entertaining way to gain extra income, but I wouldn’t rely on it as my online cash source.
What questions do you have on this topic? Will you try to find a mystery shopping gig to do in your free time?
Tell me everything that’s on your mind in the comments section, and I’ll gladly engage with your opinions.
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