We are continuing our deep dive into the mystery shopping trends of 2023, and today we have using mobile apps to collect data. If your mystery shopping software doesn’t have an app and doesn’t allow gathering data on the go, reconsider ASAP.
It’s not new, though. Mobile technologies have been used for mystery shopping for quite some time, why is it a trend now?
Market research activities, CX / VoC measurements, and mystery shopping programs have been valuable sources of consumer insights that fuel action-driven decisions among businesses, big and small.
With the advancement of mobile technology, research activities, in general, have also transformed in so many ways including improved efficiency for survey assignments and results handling, higher voluntary participation in more creatively designed surveys, and enhanced accessibility for geo-challenging samples reach.
Advantages of going mobile in research:
- Cost-effective
- Convenience
- Access
- Speed
In the quickly changing world of trends, it is crucial your client knows the data quickly and accurately. Mystery shopping today is just a piece of the company’s CX research puzzle. If the information is not correct, the whole thing can crumble and lead to budgets and time lost.
Going mobile is one of the best ways to reach your target audience and generate results in a more cost-effective way. Nowadays every important data collected is just a tap away or via mobile voice-to-text transcribers, and all responses can be saved into the database or information-gathering system.
Quick and accurate data collection
Performing mystery shopping using mobile apps allows collecting data on the spot, and answering questionnaire questions directly after checking the matter. This ensures better accuracy as the shopper does not have a chance to forget something as they get back home to finish the review.
Discreet data input
Who pays attention to people clicking away on their phones? Exactly, no one. Mystery shoppers can easily open the app and input information all throughout the visit and not draw any attention to themselves.
Files attachment
Using mobile apps for mystery shopping can help collect important data such as pictures, photos, audio recordings of conversations, etc. With a single click of a button, you can receive a more coherent report.
Instant online database
All the collected answers are automatically uploaded into an online database as being entered.
This allows for cutting costs and time spent on the subsequent data input (as there is none). Moreover, the said database is available anywhere anytime, and no single report is ever lost.
Geo-location capturing feature
Some apps, like Checker for instance, allow to track the fieldwork and check the credibility of the review:
- When a surveyor or mystery shopper takes a photo on site, the app will automatically collect EXIF data (time and location details), which are important for media attachment validation and fraud detection during quality control.
- Fieldwork progress reports will also show the status of completion for each project onsite.
