Mystery shopping has become a popular business sector to help a variety of businesses with their overall marketing plans, improving the position for success in their given field. All businesses work to achieve high customer satisfaction levels so that they can continue to grow through referrals, yet some businesses need assistance to improve this part of their business. As competition becomes increasingly competitive around the world for businesses, mystery shopping can help to provide that extra edge needed for success.

Due to the fact that mystery shopping has become such big business, the different types of companies looking for mystery shoppers have changed. Originally mystery shopping served the purpose of analyzing a business and understanding more about it and it involved mainly looking at churches, schools and housing associations. However these days practically all businesses and organizations use mystery shopping.

As mentioned, companies of all types can benefit from this unique service. Therefore, it does not matter what type of business uses a mystery shopper, just that the information reported is accurate. For instance, in the United States, some of the companies looking for mystery shoppers include:

- Grocery Stores - Banks - Apartments - Movie Theatres - Restaurants - Fast Food Chains - Grocery Stores - Gas Stations - Car Dealerships - Hotels - Airlines - Health Clubs

This is not a full list of industry types, but includes the most common mystery shopping opportunities. Also consider that both large and small companies can benefit from the information gathered during mystery shopping. With that in mind, the list of opportunities to provide this service to is unlimited and always expanding. The most important thing that a business can gain from a mystery shopping experience is data suggesting the areas that need the most immediate improvement within.

Some companies hire mystery shoppers on their own, while the majority will search for companies that offer this service as their main course of business. The company will work out a suggested direction for the mystery shop and the items that they would like evaluated. The marketing research company will provide these instructions to the hired mystery shopper and once the shopping experience has been completed, the information will be packaged and presented to the client.

Overall no matter which type of company is looking for mystery shoppers, the goal is always the same; to get feedback on their services in order for them to improve. An example of a mystery shopping experience would include the mystery shopper going into a fast food chain. They would gather information regarding various aspects of their experience including how friendly the staff were and how cooked the food was. Then they will give their feedback to the company via a form. It is done secretly so that the staff at the fast food chain does not know that they are being monitored. That is how unbiased feedback is found. Through this unbiased feedback, improvements can be made and the business can improve.