Retirement Job Offline
Mystery Shopper

A mystery shopper walks into a fast food restaurant – nothing about the patrons appearance makes him/her stand out from the crowd - just another person anxious for a high calorie food fix. No one notices the hand in the pocket clutching a stop-watch ticking off the time it takes to order and receive the food.
The customer casually scans the counter and the clerk and takes mental notes of cleanliness, appearance and attitude. As soon as possible, the mystery shopper retreats to the washroom to record times and observations listed on the spy sheet.

Welcome to the world of undercover agents for the retail marketing research industry - and if you are checking out a fast food outlet, the odds are you’re a newbie on a $5 assignment with a free food bonus.

$645 million was paid out to undercover shoppers in 2004, however, it’s not doled out in large chunks.
Recently a training conference was held in Tampa, Florida, and on condition of anonymity, a number of mystery shoppers talked to Mark Albright, a reporter for the St. Petersburg Times and revealed some interesting tidbits about mystery shopping – a job many people think would be a dream career.

First off, the average mystery shopper earns about $8 to $15 a job – even for an experienced, well organized, around-the-clock secret shopper it would be a stretch to make more than $20,000 a year. So we’re talking about a part time rather than a full time job.
John, one of the secret shoppers Albright interviewed, said he earned $8,000 last year on assignments that ranged from searching for dirty fingernails to dirty uniforms. Another shopping spy said, “Mystery shopping is my hobby.”

However, I found a June,2004 article on the Wall Street Journal online site that interviewed one female mystery shopper who claimed she made $300 in one day after being assigned a golf country club investigation in the morning - designer dress shopping in the afternoon and dinner at an upscale Italian restaurant at night – so there is the possibility of being on the receiving end of luxury perks such as free weekends in five star hotels and dinners for two at gourmet restaurants and being paid to be there.

But to reach that level takes time. Think baseball – you start in the minor leagues (fast food outlets and off beat assignments) and as you gain experience and build a reliable record with the coaching staff, you move up to triple A (more detailed assignments) and then “the show” – the Bank of America and Hilton Hotel type of assignments.

What about mystery shopping as a retirement job? It would seem to me there would be a demand for baby boomer types. American Demographics magazine reported that the 50-plus age group accounts for half of U.S. auto sales. "Everybody looks at the youth market," marketing consultant Art Spinella told the magazine, "(but) it's 50-plus that's going to drive the auto industry and incremental sales" for the next 10 or 15 years. From 2005 to 2010, Spinella said, the share for every 10-year age group below 50 will fall — and the share for people in their 50s, 60s and 70s will grow.

Advertising Age noted: "So maybe boomers will downsize a bit in retirement, but they still will own large homes loaded with ... stuff. For decades to come, baby boomers will remain the consummate consumers."
It would appear that those near or already retired would be naturals for the secret world of retail investigation.

But how do you enlist in the retail spy corps? Search the web but take your time and don’t be in a hurry – the web is flooded by mystery shopping scam artists - some will charge you for what will turn out to be an outdated list of mystery shopping resources and run away fast if there is no guaranteed refund if your not satisfied..

Be patient - one mystery shopper said he forwarded more than 25 applications before he was given his first assignment.

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