Getting paid to shop and dine out?
It sounds too good to be true, but trust me, it’s not with mystery shopper jobs.
As a mystery shopper, my job is to visit stores, restaurants, and even hotels to evaluate their customer service, product quality, and overall experience.
It’s a fun and flexible way to earn extra money, and the best part is, you can make $500 a month doing it!
So today, I’ll share how you can get started with legit mystery shopper jobs, whether online or in-person, and guide you to resources and companies that can help you on your way.
Learn How to Build a Profitable Affiliate Website
(Free Step-by-Step Video Tutorials to Making Money with a Blog!)
What is Mystery Shopping?
Mystery shopping has been around since the 1940s when companies first began using it to gauge their employees’ integrity.
Fast forward to today, and it’s a widely recognized practice where businesses hire individuals to pose as regular customers.
As a mystery shopper, your main role is to assess the quality of customer service, the condition and appeal of products, and the overall experience at a store or restaurant (or any other service really).
This means interacting with staff, making purchases (and getting reimbursed), and then submitting detailed reports about your experience.
So why do companies PAY you to shop with them?
Well, your feedback helps businesses identify what’s working well and what needs improvement. Ultimately, their main goal is to enhance the customer experience.
And to do so, they need to gain insights into their operations from an unbiased perspective.
That’s where you come in.
What are the Different Types of Mystery Shopper Jobs?
Mystery shopping jobs can vary widely but often fall under one of four main categories:
- In-Person Mystery Shopping Jobs
- Online Mystery Shopping Jobs
- Telephone Mystery Shopping Jobs
- Video Mystery Shopping Jobs
Depending on your skills and preferences, you can choose the type that suits you best.
- In-person mystery shopping is by far the most popular and often the most lucrative (often offering the best overall value).
- But if you’re more of a work-from-home type of person, online, telephone, and video mystery shopping are extremely flexible with convenient options.
In-Person Mystery Shopping Jobs
In-person mystery shopping is the most popular type of mystery shopping gig, and it’s easy to see why.
It involves visiting various physical locations like stores, restaurants, hotels, and even entertainment venues.
As an in-person mystery shopper, you get to experience firsthand what it’s like to be a customer, all while getting paid for it!
Typical tasks include interacting with staff, making purchases, and sometimes even returning items to evaluate the entire customer service process.
One of the reasons in-person mystery shopping is so popular for shoppers is because it offers a more immersive and engaging experience.
You get to be out and about, exploring new places, and often enjoying free meals or products.
Plus, these assignments usually offer the best value, combining reimbursement for your purchases with a fee for your time and detailed feedback.
It’s a fun, flexible way to make extra money, and it rarely gets boring.
Online Mystery Shopping Jobs
Online mystery shopping is perfect for those who prefer working from the comfort of their own home.
This type of mystery shopping involves evaluating websites, customer service chats, and email responses to make sure that companies provide a smooth and efficient online experience for their customers.
As an online mystery shopper, your tasks might include making online purchases to test the checkout process, navigating websites to evaluate user experience, and interacting with customer service to assess their responsiveness and helpfulness.
One of the great things about online mystery shopping is its flexibility.
You can complete assignments at your own pace, without having to leave your house.
This makes it an excellent option for stay-at-home parents, students, or anyone looking to make extra money online on their own schedule.
Not to mention that you usually get the added perk of potentially keeping the items you purchase as part of your evaluation!
If you prefer an online job where you can work from home and get paid to share your real experiences with other people, then consider starting a blog! I do this and earn a full-time income online with this site. Take this FREE blog training to get started building a money-making website!
Telephone Mystery Shopping Jobs
Phone mystery shopping is a great option for those who excel at verbal communication and want to evaluate service quality without leaving home.
As you can probably guess, this involves calling customer service lines across various industries such as call centers, hotels, travel, tourism, financial services, and insurance (just to name a few).
Your main task is to assess how well these companies handle customer inquiries and concerns over the phone.
Typically, you’ll be assigned to ask specific questions, gauge how knowledgeable and friendly the representatives are, and note how long it takes to get a response.
You’ll then report your findings, providing detailed feedback on the service experience.
While not as exciting or flashy as in-person or online shopping, this type of mystery shopping is often quick and easy.
Video Mystery Shopping Jobs
Video mystery shopping is similar to in-person mystery shopping, but with an added twist: you record your entire experience.
This means wearing a discreet camera, like smart glasses, to capture your interactions with staff and the overall environment.
It’s a pretty unique approach to mystery shopping but is highly sought after because businesses get visual and audio feedback, providing them with a clearer picture of their customer service quality.
Companies often prefer this method as it offers undeniable evidence of both positive and negative aspects of the service.
With the increasing demand for detailed and accurate feedback, there are plenty of opportunities to get into video mystery shopping and make a significant impact on business operations (and your wallet).
6 Best Mystery Shopper Jobs Companies To Sign Up With
When looking for legit mystery shopper jobs, the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) is probably the best resource you can use.
The MSPA lists reputable mystery shopping companies, making it easier to find trustworthy companies.
The best platforms for mystery shopper jobs are featured there, so if you want to find reliable opportunities, be sure to check them out.
Need some help quickly getting started? Here are my top six mystery shopper companies you should sign up with to start earning $500, $600, even $700 a month!
1. Market Force
Market Force reigns supreme as one of the best mystery shopping companies to work for.
I get paid to eat fast-casual food, pop into retail stores, and even catch movies for free—all while earning between $9 to $30 per assignment.
If you’re interested in becoming a Market Force shopper (which I would highly recommend starting with), you can apply here.
2. Ipsos
Ipsos is a great mystery shopping company for those looking to make extra cash with a variety of gigs.
You might shop at a luxury watch shop one day and a gas station the next. How chic.
While there aren’t many shops in my area in Boston that catch my interest, many reviewers rave about Ipsos jobs. Plus, being a member of the MSPA means Ipsos is a legit company to work with.
So sign up to become an Ipsos mystery shopper!
3. Field Agent
The Field Agent app lets you earn money by completing small micro tasks in your local area.
These gigs include mystery shopping, rating and reviewing products, in-store audits, surveys, and even scavenger hunts.
And believe it or not, I’ve made a total of $3,716.28 while using the Field Agent app.
And yes, before you ask, a huge chunk of that is from mystery shopping!
This app is a great way to get freebies and make extra cash doing simple fun activities right around your neighborhood.
Check out my review of the Field Agent app to get a full breakdown of my experience!
4. BestMark
If you’re ever searched where to find secret shopping positions near you, BestMark has likely come up.
They’re one of the country’s largest and oldest providers of secret shoppers, working with various Fortune 500, 100, and 50 companies.
Pretty good if you ask me!
It primarily caters to businesses in the hospitality industry, giving you plenty of opportunities to evaluate restaurants, hotels, and more.
5. Secret Shopper
Secret Shopper is a market research firm that hires mystery shoppers as independent contractors.
They’ve been around for over thirty years and have won several awards from the MSPA.
6. Sinclair Customer Metrics
Sinclair Customer Metrics is another reputable mystery shopping company with a steady demand for secret shoppers. They have a BBB A+ rating, which means they’re a legitimate company to work with.
Sinclair offers a wide range of mystery shopping types, including in-person, phone, and video shops. So definitely check them out!
How to Make an Extra $500 a Month
Making money as a mystery shopper is easier than you might think, and you can start earning today!
From my own experience, the key is to sign up with reputable mystery shopping companies, and avoid questionable platforms that seem a little too good to be true. (The best thing you can do before joining is research, research, research!)
Once you’re registered, you can choose from a variety of assignments that fit your schedule and interests.
And it doesn’t matter if you prefer in-person, online, telephone, or video mystery shopping – there’s a gig out there for you.
I’ve shared the real ways I make money as a mystery shopper, and you can do the same!
So:
- Sign up with trusted platforms
- Complete your first assignment
- Start seeing the extra cash roll in
That’s how you become a mystery shopper and make extra money in your spare time!
Is There a Better Way to Make Money Than Mystery Shopping?
Starting an affiliate blog is another way to make money and it offers scalable income potential compared to mystery shopping.
While mystery shopping pays per gig, affiliate blogging can generate passive income as your content continues to attract traffic over time.
This is especially true if you drive Pinterest traffic to your blog!
Making passive income was one of the main attractions that led me to start this affiliate blog – and it’s done it’s job!
Nowadays, I automate much of my blogging process with AI and outsource the writing to freelancers to make this site a truly passive income stream!
Mystery shopping often involves unpredictable hours and travel, whereas blogging can be done from anywhere with a stable internet connection.
If you want to start your own money-making affiliate blog, then register for this free training!
