Retailers need to mull and adopt diverse strategies to survive the game. Driven by competition, retailers have realized that satisfying their customers is the key to win the business. They also need to keep abreast of the market conditions, and the strategies of their competitors. Apart from evaluating their competitors, significant self appraisal is also necessary. Mystery shopping is an efficient tool for evaluating the product quality, performance level, knowledge, attitude, and behavior of the sales staff.

Generally mystery shoppers are used for evaluating customer service efficiency. They visit the retail store and behave like any other normal customer, while they keep an eye on the happenings at the store. They take note of the maintenance, display, performance of the key front line personnel, product knowledge and behavior of the staff, and the quality of their customer service. They observe how the sales staffs greet the customer, and how they interact with them. They are the remote eyes, and ears of the retailer. Think of mystery shoppers as “undercover customers” sent in to observe, interact, and report on other customers and store employees. As a shopper, you're typically employed by a third-party rather than the store or company itself.