You've probably heard of mystery shopping. It’s a fairly standard service that hires an anonymous shopper to visit your store, fill out a checklist, and then sends you the results. It's a snapshot in time and often focuses just on customer service, but it often lacks the depth and professional insight you need to make real and meaningful improvements to your business.

This is different.  This is a Strategic Mystery Shop. It’s conducted by me, Kath Stonehouse, a small business retail consultant.

As a specialist in retail, I complete the entire audit myself, bringing years of experience and a discerning eye to both the sales team and your store.  This will give you insight into not just your team’s customer service but also the journey of your customer as they move around the store.

Whilst your team’s ability to provide amazing service and to sell are crucial, an effective bricks and mortar store should also ‘shop itself’.  By that I mean that, if the customer never talks to any team member at any time throughout their journey except when they are about to pay, the layout, merchandising and signage in the store should encourage them to add items to their basket along the way.  The store has to be a silent seller. 

At the same time, your team provide another layer of care and service for your customers, prompting them to stay a bit longer or purchase that little bit more. Beyond just providing customer service, your team have to sell. Do they have the techniques to do this in an authentic and genuine way, and are they doing it when you’re not around?

These are the things that I can observe through fresh eyes when I visit. I don't just shop your store. I strategically evaluate both your store and your team as a seasoned retail expert, but through the eyes of your customer.  

OUR SERVICES

STRATEGIC MYSTERY SHOP

This goes beyond the standard mystery shop. It’s a strategic evaluation performed by a retail expert.

During my visit, I look at:

  • The Full Customer Journey: I track the path a customer takes from the moment they walk in the door to the moment they leave, identifying friction points and missed opportunities.

  • Strategic Merchandising & Layout: Just as your customers would, I experience and observe how your store layout, product placement, and visual merchandising encourage (or discourage) people to move around your store and make additional purchases.

  • Sales and Service Expertise: I assess your team's ability to engage customers, promote add-on sales and create a memorable and enjoyable experience that reinforces your brand. I will look at whether they not just provide service, but also sell.

  • Brand Cohesion and Ambiance: I evaluate whether the store's atmosphere, music, and overall feel are consistent with your brand identity and whether they encourage a customer to linger that bit longer.

This is a specialised service, conducted by our retail consultant, that will provide you with valuable, expert level information that will empower you to make the changes necessary to transform your business.

The Process for the Strategic Mystery Shop:

Prior to the audit, you and I will:

  • Have a 20 minute meeting.

  • Finalise the comprehensive Audit Report that will be my guide, making sure it includes all the areas that you want assessed.

  • Ask you some questions about your own expectations on your team so that I can crosscheck them against what I experience during my visit.

  • Agree on a time frame for completion - usually within two weeks, if not sooner.

  • Ask you to give me an indication of the normal cycle of your trading. I like to time my visits to when it’s not too quiet (that’s too easy for customer service) so this helps me assess when the best time to visit might be.

During the audit:

  • You will keep hush hush and not tell anyone that an audit will be conducted. It’s best that I see exactly what your customers see.

  • I conduct the audit as agreed and no, I don’t wear dark glasses and a hat. If you’ve never met me, you probably won’t know it’s me either.

  • I will send you a message soon after my visit to confirm that I’ve been.

After the audit:

  • Within 5 days of the audit, I will send you the Audit Report and any supporting visuals (I will likely take some photos as well).

  • You take some time to review the report and my comments.

  • We have a 30 minute debrief call to discuss the outcomes. You can clarify any points and I can give you some suggestions that might be useful.

  • We can also discuss options to keep working with me, if that’s something that you feel would help you to maximise the opportunities that the Strategic Mystery Shop identifies.

  • No, there isn’t. If I buy something from your business it will be because I really want it and that your store or team has convinced me I should have it! That’s a win-win. I walk away with something I love, and you get another loyal customer.

  • On completion, I will provide you with a comprehensive report detailing both objective data and my professional observations.

    This report is a detailed roadmap of actionable insights - not just what happened whilst I was there. It includes why it happened and what you can do about it.

    It’s a combination of a spreadsheet of points as well as detailed writing outlining my thoughts, observations and advice.

  • Absolutely! That’s key to this whole process being successful. After our agreements are signed and before we have our initial discovery call, I will send you a draft version of the Audit Report and we can discuss what should be added or what’s not needed. It is customisable to suit your objectives. This will then become the basis of my undercover visit.

  • No, I don’t think you should. I wouldn’t even tell your store manager or 2IC. If you want to understand exactly what your customers experience, then you want your team and your store to present exactly as it does on a normal day.

  • Yes, they are. Prior to beginning, we will both sign a confidentiality document.

    By signing this document, I agree to keep all results confidential and will not share with any other party unless you give me permission or request it.

    At the same time, you will agree to not give a copy of the written report to any other party, except those that are employed by you or your company. I’m sure you will understand that whilst I want you to be able to use the report to educate and inform your team, the template itself is the intellectual property of The Retail Toolkit and we like to keep that undercover too!

    Please see our Privacy Policy for more information.

    • A 50% deposit is paid prior to the initial meeting. This is non-refundable.

    • An invoice for the remainder is sent along with the Audit Report. This is to be paid within 7 days.

    • Please see our Terms & Conditions for more information.

  • There are certainly some businesses that I might suggest I’m not the right person for - a barber springs to mind!

    But in the main, it’s fairly easy to come up with a scenario for most businesses. For example, I might be shopping for my teenage son, grandchild or parent. Your team should be effective enough to provide excellent service to whoever is in front of them.

    Also, fortunately I am lucky to have very broad general knowledge that would suit most businesses. I love camping and caravanning, I like a bit of DIY around the house (I even have my own dropsaw!), I’m not a mechanic but I’m pretty good with cars. From my previous businesses, I have excellent food-based knowledge as well as plants and gardening. I’ve worked across many sectors, including pets, and I even have my gorgeous dog, Shelby, who would love nothing better than being my undercover sidekick to mystery shop a pet store.

    And, if I think it will help, I might take along one of our offsiders to help add a bit of authenticity.

    If you’re still not sure, let’s have a chat.

  • When it comes to our consultancy and mentoring, we can work remotely with any business any where in Australia, and other countries as well.

    However, the Strategic Mystery Shop service is only available for businesses in areas that we can visit in person.

    Currently we’re able to offer this service to any businesses in Perth and the south-west of Western Australia.

    That covers all suburbs of Perth, Mandurah, Bunbury, Busselton, Dunsborough, Margaret River, Augusta, Albany and all areas in between.

    If you’re interested in this service but not sure if we can assist, please get in touch.

  • Once we know the scope of work, we will provide a quote for you to consider before proceeding. This will cover all costs, including the development of the specialised audit that suits your business.

    There are no additional costs for any purchases made during the visit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who we work with:

We can work with just about any type of retail or service-based business. The shopping scenarios for an undercover shopper are endless.

  • Supermarkets & Grocery

  • Pet Stores

  • Office Supplies & Book Stores

  • Hair Salons & Beauticians

  • Specialty Retail

  • Cafes, Restaurants & Wineries

  • Automotive & Parts

  • Sporting, Camping & Fishing

  • Hardware & Home Improvement

  • Pharmacies

  • Garden Centres & Nurseries

  • Fashion, Shoes & Clothing

What’s Beyond the Strategic Mystery Shop?

A Strategic Mystery Shop should just the starting point for continuous improvement. It provides you with the data you need to figure out what to do next and what tools you will need to achieve them. After you receive the report and we’ve had our phone catch up, you should be asking yourself, ‘What’s next? How can I use this information to maximum effect?’

This is the bit where you use our insights from the Strategic Mystery Shop to take action.

If you need help in working out the priorities and the next steps, we can help. After all, they don’t call us The Retail Toolkit for nothing!

Here are just some ways that we can help:

  • 1 Hour Strategy Meeting: This is a fast-track process to identify clear goals, develop the strategies to achieve them and finalise the action plan to get you underway.

  • Team Training: As experienced and successful team trainers in retail, we can offer training in-store or remotely to you, your manager or your team. Our recommendation is that we train your manager or yourself because that sets you up for ongoing success for future team members or working with your current ones.

  • Owner/Manager Coaching & Mentoring: This is like having your own co-pilot - the person beside you that keeps their eye on the big picture whilst you’re focused on the controls. We would be a trusted partner for you to work with when you feel unsure, keep you accountable to your goals and cheer you on every step of the way. There is nothing quite as valuable as a cheerleader to keep you motivated. Depending on your needs and budget, this could be just for a few weeks to get you started on the next steps for your business, or for longer if you need it. Find out more about our Business Coaching & Mentoring service.

The Strategic Mystery Shop is just the beginning. It’s what you do with the information that you learn that really makes the difference to your business. If we can help you through the next growth stage, please get in touch and we can discuss what that might look like.

READY TO FIND OUT MORE?