Many mystery shoppers have really been struggling over the last few years. The economic crash in the summer of 2008 has certainly had some far-reaching effects. Over the last few years, many mystery shoppers saw other sources of income from part-time and full-time jobs eliminated or significantly decreased, increasing the need to pick up more mystery shopping assignments. Other mystery shoppers who have been more fortunate with other sources of income have been trying to pick up additional assignments to save more and maybe pay off some debts. Adding to this increased demand for jobs are the many new people who have joined the ranks of mystery shopping over the last few years. With this in mind, many mystery shoppers want to know what to expect in the New Year.
Job Availability. In many parts of the country, the economy is continuing to slowly recover. In these areas, you can expect to find greater availability of jobs. In other areas, though, the economic recovery hasn’t yet fully made its presence now, and in these areas, jobs will continue to be more scarce than prior to the 2008 crash. In the coming year, however, generally speaking, you can expect to have a somewhat easier time finding jobs as experts predict the economic recovery to continue.
Assignment Compensation. While the economy is picking up in many parts of the country, lessons of the recovery have been learned by many. Just as individuals have cut back on expenses and downsized, so have many businesses. Companies surely recognize the benefit of the services mystery shoppers offer, yet they largely will not be increasing pay on assignments in the coming year. Generally, you can expect pay to remain relatively level.
The Long Term Outlook. Many economists expect the economic recovery to continue its slow trend through at least 2012, which personal income levels slowly increasing and the unemployment rate slowly decreasing. By the end of 2012, many economists feel that most sectors of the economy will have recovered to levels seen in the early 2000s. When this happens, you can expect some of the mystery shoppers who entered in the business to make ends meet during these hard times to drop back out of the business. You may expect greater ease in finding jobs, and more success in negotiating bonus pay and travel compensation, too.
It is always hard to look into the future and predict what will happen. After all, few people predicted the 2008 crash or several other major economic downturns in recent decades. Surely there were signs that such a crash was going to happen, but the best that economists can do is read the data and analyze it to the best of their abilities. When you look at the industry as well as economic indicators, all signs do point to a slow and steady recovery, and this includes with mystery shopping, too. So while times have been rough for the past few years, it appears that we are about at the end of this long road and about to turn onto a more prosperous road in coming years.
I have found here in Ct..there are lots of jobs….many of them offer bonuses…There are a lot of bank jobs, high end jewelry and department store jobs. There are lots of Super Market jobs…including Whole Foods and Fresh MArket, very upscale shops)it is hard to get all the information down without being noticed..and there is a LOT of information needed for these shops. There are lots of retail shops at malls for clothing, upscale bags, shoes, make-up,accessories, gifts,language kiosks, fast food,pretzels. There are a lot of Pet shops, gas stations, Sports Clubs, Golf Shops, high end Men’s Clothing….I can choose the jobs I want to do….and get the pay I want….(within their range) I have not found it hard to get jobs. I turn a lot of requests down…Most of the people that really need to earn some money and ask me about Mystery Shopping..never follow up. I love doing Mystery Shopping…and have not found my schedule decreased do to the ecomony…During this bad time, Customer Service is vital….So just keep going…and you will get the jobs you want….ENJOY Phoebe
I have found that a number of firms have reduced the fees paid for shops with out reducing shop requirements. It has gotten to the point where some are not worth doing. I expect a phone shop to pay more than $2.00 if I have to spend 10 minutes on the phone then another 20 to fill out the on line forms. My time is worth more than that.
i wanted to start this but the pay was worth less then i thought gas etc so i was looking for 100.00 or more who wants 2.00 for 1/2 hr of computer store etc and ttimemost of all
You know, it’s funny, you would think that mystery shopping would be utilized more now. I mean alot of shops the shopper does have to pay for purchases to be paid back later. I personally have pumped a good chunk of change INTO the economy doing mystery shopping.