How to run your first mystery shopper visit

A visit is created in a four-step wizard: what you audit, who and when, the assignment, and the requirements. You end up with a link for each location — send it to the shopper by email or messenger, or show it as a QR code.

What you'll need

• company administrator rights;
• a checklist with questions — it becomes the shopper's form;
• the locations you want to audit;
• optionally, a mystery shopper in your shopper list (if you want to email the link).

Step by step

1. Open the wizard. In Work → Mystery shopper, click New visit (if there are no visits yet, Create the first visit).

2. “What we audit” step. Choose the Checklist for the form and tick the Locations (there's a search and a Select all button). A separate visit with its own link is created for each location. The Wave — optional field helps you group visits, for example “October 2026”. Next to each location you can see how many days ago a shopper was there.

   

3. “Who and when” step. Pick a shopper from the list or choose Anonymous link — the shopper then introduces themselves when they open it. Set the Visit window: from … to. If the shopper has an email address, turn on Email the link to the shopper.

4. “Assignment” step. Fill in the Cover story (who to pose as and how to behave) and Scenario and what to do. You can start from a template: Dine-in lunch, Takeaway order, In-store purchase, Complaint.

5. “Requirements” step. Turn on what you need and set the numbers (see the section below).

   

6. Create the visits. Click Create N visits. In the Visits created window, copy a link, share it, click Copy all links or show the QR code. Open as shopper lets you see the form through the shopper's eyes.

Visit requirements

Number fields: Minimum minutes on site, Geotag tolerance, m, Receipt reimbursement limit (empty means no limit) and Currency.

If you turn off Coordinator review, a form with no red flags becomes an audit as soon as it's submitted. A form with a red flag still comes to you for review. The AI review (if your plan includes it) is prepared for auto-accepted forms too — it appears on the visit card.

Visit window

The shopper can't start the visit before the window opens, and the link closes once it ends. If the shopper has already started the form, they have another 24 hours after the window ends to finish it. If the form isn't submitted, the visit gets the “Expired” status. You can change the window, cover story and scenario later: click Edit on the visit card. An expired visit can be reopened with a new deadline using Reopen.

Mystery shoppers

It's convenient to keep your regular shoppers in a list: Shoppers tab → Add shopper. Enter the name, email, phone, city and a note (for example, payment details for reimbursement). The Active — can be assigned visits checkbox hides a shopper from the wizard without deleting their history. If the selected shopper has recently visited the same location, the wizard warns you and suggests sending someone else.

Frequently asked questions