11 August 2008

Businesses in Camborne encouraged to sign up for Mystery Shopper Program

Retailers in Camborne are being encouraged to sign up to a Secret Shopper Program, in which undercover shoppers will check out the kind of service they are offering customers.

Run by Cornwall Retail Skills, the initiative is the first of its kind in Cornwall where numerous retailers in the same town will be assessed.

The scheme is open to a maximum of 25 businesses on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Retailers eligible for selection must be SME's and employ fewer than 250 members of staff.

The secret shoppers will assess various aspects of the selected stores, such as the manner of staff, presentation of merchandise and the overall feel of the store.

The shops will get detailed feedback from an independent retail skills advisor after the inspection who will help the business set long term plans based on the mystery shopper's experience.
Cornwall Retail Skills, the sector group for retail in Cornwall, is funded through the European Social Fund and was set up to support businesses and employees in retail. The initiative can also help fund business development and training packages for SME's and medium sized businesses in Cornwall.

Jo Lake, CRS Co-ordinator at Cornwall Retail Skills, said: "CRS wants to help businesses understand how their customers think. Sometimes when you are inside a business it's very difficult to detach yourself and understand what a customer sees.

"Through getting involved in our Secret Shopper Program we are offering businesses a way of accessing training and development, as well as a way of finding out what their customers really think about them."

Matt Powell, Business Growth Manager at CPR Regeneration, the urban regeneration company for Camborne, Pool and Redruth, works closely with local retailers and other businesses in the area.

Matt said: "Having a secret shopper is a unique opportunity for retailers to get detailed feedback on all elements of their customers' shopping experiences, be it good or bad. The follow up evaluation with the Cornwall Retail Skills independent adviser will also ensure businesses can use their mystery shopper experience as a way to measure against existing business objectives and to set future ones."

Retailers in Camborne have up until Wednesday August 20th to sign up for the scheme. The successful businesses will then have their premises inspected over a six-week period, with the feedback starting in early October.

To register your business for the Secret Shopper Program visit www.yourshopcornwall.co.uk.