• Mystery Shopping your Customer Experience

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    Updated: 15th April, 2025 | Created: 6th September, 2021
    Proinsight Staff Chloe

    Chloe Kinch

    Director of Client Success | Proinsight Mystery Shopping

    What You Can Learn From Competitor Shops

     

    Often, when thinking of mystery shopping services, businesses will think of face-to-face mystery shopping, but there is much more to this useful tool than many realise. These days, the best mystery shopping companies tend to offer a range of services, from telephone mystery shopping to market research, enabling them to provide businesses with an abundance of invaluable information that will go on to benefit their future success.

     

    One particular service provided by mystery shopping companies that can be easy to dismiss but is actually incredibly advantageous is; competitor shops. This service does what it says on the tin and it involves a mystery shopper interacting with a competitor and feeding back to you. Businesses from all industry sectors can learn a lot from a competitor shop and if you’re wondering whether this is a service that’s worth using, keep reading today.

     

    What your competitors are doing well

     

    Whether a mystery shopper interacts with your competitors online, via the phone or face-to-face, they will be able to provide feedback about all of the things that they did well during this interaction. This competitor shop will give you a useful insight into why competitors are popular and why prospective customers might turn to them for the products/services they need.

     

    Knowing more in this regard will enable you to re-evaluate your own customer journey and make some changes to ensure that you’re providing the best possible experience. You can take some of the positives from the interactions with your competitors and implement them to ensure that you’re not being beaten should prospective customers interact with you both. Of course, mystery shoppers can also inform you about what your competitors aren’t so great at too.

     

    What sets you apart from the competition

     

    The well rounded and honest feedback provided by a mystery shopper will help you to establish what makes your business unique. Having a USP is really important, no matter what size your business is, and it will help you to ensure that you’re not being overlooked by prospective customers who are assessing the whole market before deciding who to do business with.

     

    Understanding what sets you apart and what you’re excelling at when compared to your competitors will enable you to use this to your advantage when you’re trying to win new business. Your USP is what differentiates you from your competition and it is something that you should be advertising to help prospective customers distinguish between you and the rest of the market, so being aware of what sets you apart is helpful for a number of reasons.

     

    What you can do to be more competitive

     

    Everything that you learn from competitor shops can help you to make changes to your business to ensure that you’re not getting left behind. Remaining competitive is essential if you want to be successful, especially in a saturated market, and without a competitive edge, it is likely that prospective customers will continually turn to your competitors.

     

    Any feedback provided by a mystery shopper can be used to help you ensure that you’re standing out from the crowd and doing so is about more than just having competitive pricing nowadays. Both UX and CX is something that all businesses need to be aware of and providing a frictionless experience that makes customers feel like an individual is essential. By using competitor shops at various times you will be able to ensure you’re staying competitive too.

     

    Working with a mystery shopping company

     

    All in all, there is no denying that competitor shops can be incredibly useful and working with a mystery shopping company, even if you solely use this service, will definitely be worthwhile. You can learn so much from a mystery shopper interacting with your direct competitors and you can use the feedback that you receive to fuel the success of your business.

     

    If you’re interested in competitor shops and you’d like to speak to a mystery shopping company about this specific service in more detail, don’t hesitate to contact our team at Proinsight today. Not only can we answer any questions you may have, but we can also provide you with the outstanding services that you’d like to try as well. We have many years of experience providing tailored mystery shopping programmes to businesses across all sectors, so you can trust that we are the best people to turn to in this regard. We look forward to hearing from you.


      David Hopkins

      David Hopkins

      Managing Director at Proinsight Mystery Shopping

      David has a long history in the business of doing good business. In 2008, he co-founded Proleisure, a leisure consulting company, where he identified a growing need for deeper customer insights across the industry. This led to the launch of Proinsight Mystery Shopping in 2014, with a vision to provide businesses with the valuable data needed to enhance customer experience.

      Now, as we approach our 10th year, Proinsight has become a leading provider of specialist mystery shopping, auditing, and research programs, serving a diverse range of sectors across the UK including real estate, fitness, retail, hospitality, and so many more. We remain committed to helping our clients achieve excellence and drive meaningful improvements in their businesses.

      David is deeply committed to enhancing customer service across all industries. His passion lies in providing valuable mystery shopping insights that empower clients to take actionable steps towards improvement. By delivering these insights directly, David helps businesses create effective strategies to elevate their customer experience and drive meaningful change.


      Chloe Kinch

      Chloe Kinch

      Director of Client Success at Proinsight Mystery Shopping

      Chloe joined Proinsight Mystery Shopping as an Account Manager in 2017. Prior to her role at Proinsight, she served as National Sales Manager at Parkwood Leisure, where she gained extensive experience in exceeding customer expectations and developed a deep understanding of the leisure industry.

      Chloe quickly advanced within Proinsight, progressing from Account Manager in 2017 to Head of Client Success in 2020, and ultimately to Director of Client Success and shareholder in 2022. In her current role, she leads client relationships with prestigious brands such as David Lloyd, Dyson, and Apple. Chloe is responsible for designing bespoke mystery shopping programs tailored to each client's specific needs, aimed at enhancing customer service and optimising sales processes across various industries, including real estate, hospitality, retail, leisure, and more.


      Lucy Winn

      Lucy Winn

      Brand and Communications Manager at Proinsight Mystery Shopping

      After graduating with a degree in Marketing from the University of Westminster, Lucy successfully grew and scaled her own e-commerce womenswear clothing business over a span of four years, expanding into international retail markets including Japan, the US, and France. With extensive expertise in brand development and digital communications, Lucy has driven commercial growth through strategic initiatives like influencer marketing, digital campaign management, and both online and offline retail expansion.

      In July 2024, she joined Proinsight Mystery Shopping as Brand and Communications Manager, where she leads the strategy and management of all digital platforms, including the website and social media, with a focus on driving shopper sign-ups and generating client leads. Additionally, she oversees event management for both internal company days and major external summits like Connect CX. At these events, we emphasise the critical importance of exceptional customer service across various industries, positioning it as a cornerstone of a brand’s overall UX strategy.


      Robert Brocklesby

      Robert Brocklesby

      Senior Client Success Manager

      Robert is a Senior Client Success Manager at Proinsight, bringing over 20 years of consultancy and industry experience in customer service measurement and development. Throughout his career, he has led numerous high-impact projects for well-known clients across the UK, spanning a wide range of sectors. His work has consistently driven significant improvements in customer experience and contributed to sustainable, profitable growth.

      Robert recognises that each client is unique. He designs tailored Mystery Shopping programmes to monitor, enhance, and elevate the customer journey, aligning with each organisation’s specific goals. In addition to his consultancy work, Robert is a qualified teacher and regularly delivers customer service workshops. These sessions focus on identifying key strengths and uncovering areas for development, empowering frontline teams to drive continuous improvement.


      Deborah Jones

      Deborah Jones

      Senior Client Success Manager at Proinsight Mystery Shopping

      Debs has spent the last 25 years working in the health and fitness, hospitality, leisure, and childcare industries, holding senior management and consultancy roles. She has also enjoyed some backpacking and travel adventures along the way! In her spare time, she loves all things health and wellness, spending time with friends and family, and hiking with her lovely dog!