Boulder, Colorado-based Market Force Information has acquired Winnipeg-based Tell Us About Us (TUAU), Canada’s largest customer intelligence solution provider. This is Market Force’s fourth acquisition since 2005. Market Force claims to be the largest mystery shopping company in the world and one of the largest price audit and analytics firms in North America. TUAU is also a leading customer intelligence company that provides a range of customer feedback solutions. Both companies provide services to many national and international brands.A New Era of Mystery Shopping
Guest post by Jeff Hall, CEO, Second To None
The recession that began in 2007 has affected the mystery shopping industry. Not long ago, traditional shopping assignments were abundant, requirements were straight forward and payments were generous.
What a difference a few years make.
Many retail and restaurant operators have experienced measurable declines in revenue, as a rising unemployment rate and general economic anxiety have forced consumers to tightly manage spending habits. As brands have struggled with losses, many have reconsidered the resources allocated to market research and within this environment, mystery shopping.
This era has also ushered in a new corporate mindset regarding the value of market research, with increasing emphasis on custom research projects. Our firm has witnessed a shift toward non-traditional applications of mystery shopping—the type of assignments that demand significant preparation, instore interactions and increasingly complicated cognitive and observational requirements.
Today’s economic environment has forced businesses to assess their own operational performance through increasingly complicated mystery shopping efforts. While businesses continue to recognize the value mystery shopping adds via critical business intelligence, end-user (client) expectations are becoming more sophisticated.
What impact does this have on service providers, and shoppers?
…continue reading A New Era of Mystery Shopping
We are hearing lots of doom and gloom about the economy, but what can we really expect in the coming year?
Have you ever gotten one of those notices on your receipt to call a toll-free number and answer a few questions about your experience at a store or restaurant? Often the business “bribes” customers to participate by providing a coupon good for a discount on their next visit, or by entering them in a drawing for cash and other prizes.
The Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) began the Gold and Silver Certification programs in 2002. From November, 2002 until late in 2006, I presented all of the Gold Certification Workshops. But in 2006, we found three really amazing new instructors who are taking certification across the country along with me.In 2007, the four of us are presenting a total of 30 workshops, from Miami to Spokane. Meet (from left to right) Karmi Anna Mattson, Chelsea Bening and Gail Witt. The selection of these three talented presenters was a long and difficult process, but in Karmi, Chelsea and Gail, we found exactly the presentation skills, mystery shopping experience and, well, that WOW! factor we were looking for. 