Shopping Centers Today

NOV 2014

Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)

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as of stores. But of late, commercial real estate landlords are embracing the practice, as competition from online retail intensifies. Indeed, the use of mystery shoppers allows Caruso execu- tives to get an objective, outsider's view on the ways their properties might be perceived. And knowing that a secret shopper might be in the store some- where at any time, and grading them, has caused sales associates to heighten their game, says Levy. That, of course, is part of the idea. "We inform every- one of the program," he said. "We want people to feel that every single interaction might be a secret 'shop.' " The trend is expanding globally, according to Jenny Battershell, sales director of Goodwin Hospitality, a Concord, N.H.–based mystery-shop- ping company that hires out some 60,000 mystery shoppers a year. "A lot of our companies are expanding into Canada, Europe and the United Arab Emirates," Battershell said. Franchisers, too, stand to benefit from the strategy, she says. "When you're in another country, you can't necessarily be there every day to make sure everything is operating up to corporate standards. Companies are relying more and more on mys- tery shoppers to take photos and re- port back on everything, from what the signage looks like to the language sales associates are using to promote their products." Paris-based Unibail-Rodamco has employed mystery shoppers at all its retail properties since 2011, accord- ing to Clementine Piazza, the com- pany's group marketing director. The firm has 83 shopping centers in Europe. "We want our custom- ers to have a four-star welcome, not only in the common areas, but in the shops," said Piazza. Every month a mystery shopper enters a Unibail- Rodamco mall and visits about 20 stores there. These observers will grade the experience based on about 40 criteria, including the associate's greeting, helpfulness and more, Pi- azza says. Those associates who get the best scores are awarded a mall gift card and their 15 minutes of fame on Facebook. As a result of the program, stores have become more competi- tive with each other, and some of the managers introduce their own incen- tives and rewards for employees who score well, says Piazza. "Shop owners have really embraced the program," she said. "They like seeing the results. They are really interested in hearing the customer's point of view." Uni- bail-Rodamco malls organize a break- fast session each month at which company representatives sit down with store managers to share the in- formation. "Almost every time a shop has been visited [and ranked], the re- sults of their next audit are better," Piazza said. The mystery-shopping program has become a critical tool in the company's management practice, she says. "Customers who feel wel- comed are the key to everything." But not every retail owner finds the mystery-shopping experience benefi- cial. Westfield Corp., which owns 40 centers across the U.S., the U.K. and continental Europe, recently got rid of its secret-shopping program. "I think the whole idea of a 'secret shopper' felt a little polarizing as a practice," said Beth Ann Kaminkow, Westfield's chief marketing officer. "We wanted a different type of partnership with our tenants, where everyone was involved together in elevating the experiences of the consumer." Instead of hiring an outside secret- shopper firm to conduct store audits, Westfield is now working with its own marketing team to collect data on shoppers' overall experiences and mind-set. "We want to know whether they go to the mall to visit just one specific retailer, or whether they're there to window-shop," Kaminkow said. "We want to know whether they eat before they shop, or afterwards. We want to know where they go af- ter they leave J.Crew, and how much they visit our kiosks." And yet retailers themselves seem to appreciate the feedback they can get from mystery-shopper programs. "It's always nice to hear the experience we strive to instill in our store family is consistently the experience felt by our guest," said Scott Davidson, manager of the American Girl Place store at Caruso Affiliated's Grove. When stores are not up to stan- dards, Caruso Affiliated, like Unibail- Rodamco, will hold discussions with store managers about ways to improve customer service. "We have a person within our organization — the vice president of learning and develop- ment — whose specific job is to work with all the ambassadors of our prop- erties to address opportunities that were identified in the report," said Levy. Caruso CEO Rick J. Caruso reviews every summary, and the com- pany holds hospitality-training work- shops for the employees. "We try to exceed the level of a five- star resort," Levy said. "We want to out- perform the Ritz and the Four Seasons in our level of customer service." S C T 50 S C T / N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 4 When stores are not up to standards, landlords such as Caruso and Unibail- Rodamco will hold discussions with store managers about ways to improve.

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