Mystery Shopping
Get paid to go shopping, or get free meals, products and days out.
Recommended for: people who enjoy giving their opinion and like trying new restaurants, shops and experiences.
Avoid if: you’re looking for remote work, you want to focus on maximising the money you earn (rather than freebies), or you don't like interacting with staff or asking questions.
Top Mystery Shopping Websites
Pros and Cons
- Free meals, products, and experiences.
- Pay rates can be good for some mystery shops, with £25+ per hour very possible.
- Can be a lot of fun, if you don't mind writing reviews.
- Some of the required reviews can be long.
- Mystery shopping jobs can be infrequent, require applications for each task, and competition can be high.
- Pay rates are often low or zero, with the benefit being the free meal or experience.
What is Mystery Shopping?
The term 'Mystery Shopping' covers a wide range of side gigs where you evaluate a business and write a report about your findings. It includes:
- Mystery Shopping: This usually involves visiting a store or attraction, interacting with staff, taking photos, and writing a report about your experience.
- Mystery Dining: This usually involves visiting a restaurant or fast-food establishment, interacting with staff, having a meal, and writing about your experience.
Though less common, the following also fall under the Mystery Shopping umbrella:
- Store Audits: These type of tasks involve visiting shops on behalf of companies to carry out tasks such as stock-checks or evaluations.
- Remote Opportunities: Occasionally, there are mystery shopping opportunities available that can be completed from home, such as contacting a business by phone or placing an order online.
Is Mystery Shopping worth it?
It can be. If you enjoy writing about your experiences, Mystery Shopping is a fun way to get to try new restaurants, products, and days out for free. If you are selective on the jobs you complete, you can also earn a decent income per job (£5 to £25 per shop is common). However, there can be a lot of competition for jobs and you should not expect a consistent regular income.
In general, for Mystery Dining tasks you will usually get the meal for you (and sometimes a guest) for free. You may also get a small token payment in the region of £5 for your efforts. Mystery Shopping of days out and experiences works in a similar way. For example, you could be reimbursed for spa or cinema tickets and receive a small payment for your efforts.
However, many Mystery Shopping tasks do pay a set fee, which can range from £5 to £25+ per visit depending on the complexity. For example, you may be asked to visit a high-end retailer and try on some clothes, and write a report on your experience.
If you want to maximise your side gig income and free meals/experiences don't appeal, then Mystery Shopping may not be the best side hustle for you. However, some jobs do pay well and including selective Mystery Shopping in your portfolio of side hustles may be worthwhile.
Tips
We've completed a huge number of Mystery Shopping gigs at Verified Hustles. We've made a lot of mistakes and learnt a lot along the way. Our top tips are:
- Product quality reports/photos. If your Mystery Shopping reports are poor, you're unlikely to be invited or selected to complete the more lucrative opportunities.
- Be selective on the jobs you take. Read the descriptions in full before applying to jobs. Some jobs require a large amount of writing that can quickly make the job not worthwhile.
- Find the best mystery shopping sites with our Hustle Finder. The different in quality between mystery shopping websites can be huge, so taking time to find the best platform for you will pay-off long term.
- Read our Mystery Shopping Guides. We have guides for many mystery shopping websites, with tips on achieving the best pay rates on each. Think we're missing one? E-mail us at info@verifiedhustles.com and we'll consider assessing it.
- Have fun and be nice to staff. A big benefit of mystery shopping and mystery dining is that it can be a lot of fun. If you accept a job for a free meal, make sure you enjoy it! If it becomes a chore, then it's probably best to be more selective in what you apply for.