Mystery Shopping Guide UK
I started doing mystery shopping (and micro-tasks) as a side hustle at the end of 2022 as my additional income from matched betting was starting to dry up and I wanted to give something different a go.
I didn't really know what I was getting into but had seen it mentioned briefly online for a while so downloaded a couple of the recommended apps and without much of a real struggle have made well over £3,000 from this side hustle.
What is mystery shopping?
I think it is best to split this side hustle into 2 camps; mystery shopping and micro-tasks:
Mystery Shopping - this is where you go into a shop to specifically report on your experience in the store and interacting with staff members.
Micro-tasks - these are smaller jobs such as taking some pictures of a promotion in a store, scanning certain products in a shop or checking the quality of pint(s) in your local pub.
What apps do I use?
These are my favourite apps (in this order) and I’d recommend having a look at all of these:
Roamler
Shepper
IShopForIpsos
BeMyEye
FieldAgent
There are a large number of other websites and apps available but I have either not got on with them, or not yet tried them. However, if you use any you'd recommend please let me know as it would be useful to see what's out there!
How time consuming is it?
When I first started, I was pretty slow with doing the jobs and wasn't actually earning that much per hour when looking at it. However, as I've learned which jobs are worth doing and which aren't I've managed to fine-tune my earnings to average above £25 per hour when doing these tasks!
You can see a breakdown of some of my monthly earnings by looking at recent blog posts I have posted which hopefully showcase some of the tasks I choose, but here is a list of some of the ones I deem worthwhile versus the ones I don't!
Roamler - Favourite jobs
Website: Message me the word “Roamler” on Instagram for a £1 bonus!
Free Pint of XYZ - These jobs come up every now and then where you will get paid to go to a pub, buy a pint, take a photo and answer a couple questions AND get the pint reimbursed!
XYZ Product Checks - These jobs are pretty straightforward and often come up in their dozens around a local area. You nip into a supermarket, head to the aisle requested and just take a picture of the shelves with the products on and answer a few questions!
Roamler - Least Favourite jobs
Earn £X + Up to £X Bonus - This job probably pays well if you can muster up the effort but I've personally found it to take too long! You go into a store and look for up to 10 different products as requested and if the products are low on stock or need their labels changing you need to restock the shelves or get labels reprinted.
Shepper - Favourite jobs
National Lottery Checks - You've got to be quick to get your hands on these as they go quick, but National Lottery jobs pay around £3.50-£5.00 each and involve you taking around 5 photos of NL displays in-store!
Mystery Shops - These vary depending on the retailer, but these slightly longer jobs often pay really well (e.g £7 for 15 mins or £15 for 30 mins) and form a strong part of my earnings each month!
Shepper - Least Favourite jobs
Phone Store Mystery Shops - These are a real pain to complete in small shops as Shepper expect you to take 15 minutes in the store, and as I'm sure anyone who lives in a quiet area will know it just isn't always possible to stay in small shops for this long without it getting awkward - I tend to avoid these as Shepper kept failing them if the job took 15 mins or less.
IshopForIpsos
If you are between 18 and 24.5 years old, this app is a goldmine. There are lots of tasks across the country for various things that pay really well, but the absolute best task that you can rinse and repeat is the “Amazon Delivery Task”.
Essentially, some 18+ products (alcohol, kitchen knives, etc.) need ID verification upon delivery and with Think25 you should get ID’d so you can order an age-restricted item from Amazon to arrive on a pre-agreed date (find the task in the app for your postcode) or sometimes same-day-delivery and just answer the questions about whether you get ID’d when it’s delivered.
For that I have been getting paid £32.50 per delivery which I’ve done 5 times and can often be repeated once every two weeks, order a low price item and you can make some serious money off of these tasks!
There’s also lots of phone call tasks or web form tasks that you can do from home as well which is fantastic for anyone on maternity leave, or just has spare time and doesn’t fancy heading out!
FieldAgent
Website: use code “gam4qhf” to support The Bank Engine when signing up
I haven't been able to do that many of the jobs on this app as there are very rarely any in my local area, however it's worth noting that these jobs are not usually quick. They tend to involve lots of questions that you need to answer, lots of photos you need to take and then asks you to film a video in the store explaining what you like about specific displays (fine if it's quiet, but if it's busy this is not fun!)
BeMyEye
Website: use code “v1znkgq” when signing up to get a bonus on completion of your first job
I have only recently started using this one, but the main thing that's worth noting is double-checking if relevant stores are open before you reserve a mission as you will be penalised if you have to cancel the task. You lose a number of XP which isn't the end of the world, but knocks you back from unlocking additional benefits within the app.
The first job I did got rejected as the angles were not quite right on the photos. There is a super strange built-camera which makes it complicated to get images but it's well worth a try - I was in a store with super tight aisles which made it more difficult!
Since the first job I completed, I have done a number of other jobs which have been much better and I would now recommend using BeMyEye. The jobs I have recently done were much better including:
Microsoft Checks in Currys (take photos of displays in a Currys store and answer questions)
McDonalds App Checks (from the comfort of your own home take screenshots of various meals on the app and check prices are correct)
FAQs
Are you allowed to take photos in stores?
Yes it is perfectly legal and you should not be stopped from doing so, although you may get asked what you are doing if any staff get curious. I have only been asked to leave a store once by a security guard in a Lidl for taking photos of some tomatoes (out of 1,000+ jobs I've done).
What do you say if someone asks what you are doing?
Dependant on the job, there may be an attached letter in the app explaining what you are doing in case anyone asks, you can show them this letter and explain it.
If not, you could say;
a) I am completing a mystery shop that involves me taking covert pictures, is that okay?
b) I am just sending some pictures to my partner to check which item they wanted, is that okay?
I've used both of these and like I say only ever had a problem once!
How easy is it to make a regular income?
I won't lie and say you can make £X each month guaranteed, but I have made money every single month since I started this side hustle. I have started to notice a pattern where the beginning of the year is always quieter than the end of the year, and this is because marketing budgets are often spent towards Christmas.
You can see a sample of how much I have made by looking at my previous blog posts. You certainly won't be able to quit your job to do these but there is a good opportunity to make a nice side income.
Is it difficult to get into?
Not really, I didn't have a clue what I was doing when I got started and was quite shy and awkward about the whole thing but I'd recommend finding a day where you have a bit of spare time and looking at what each job entails.
Pick one or two that sound easy to get yourself acquainted with how the different apps work, and getting comfortable doing this kind of thing in public and go from there!
I always enjoyed the free pint ones as sometimes there is also a benefit for the staff member who pours the pint (e.g they win a gift card if they poured the pint well). This can be quite satisfying as the reaction is always really good when you get to give out this good news.
When do I do the jobs?
I tend to have a look at what's on the various apps a couple of times per day and reserve any jobs that interest me that I might have time to complete (after considering the reservation times mentioned above).
I'll always try to do a couple jobs in the same (or nearby) stores to make the trip worthwhile which is also key to having a few of these apps on your phone. For example, I will often be able to pick up a quick product check in Tesco on Roamler and a Shepper mystery shop in Currys across the road.
The smaller "micro-tasks" are great ones to slot in with your shopping, and I often look for "R&R" tasks on Roamler to fit into shopping trips as it is purely buying a product, taking 2 photos in-store and reviewing it online when you get home! (£2 + reimbursement for each one)
How long do the jobs take?
When I first started, the jobs took me a lot longer as I was getting used to the apps and everything but once you get into the swing of it I'd always recommend looking down the task descriptions before accepting a job to see if it "looks worthwhile".
There will be many that simply aren't worth what is being offered which I tend to ignore, but it just takes getting used to!
It's also worth noting in how long it will take you to travel to the location(s). I live quite centrally to lots of superstores so tend to be able to get to most of them within a few minutes which obviously makes my hourly rate a lot higher!
If you can, try to look for multiple jobs in similar locations to minimise overall time spent and increase your hourly rate!
Useful for taxes
This income source is taxable so if your additional income is >£1,000 you ought to declare any income from these platforms.
As such, I'd recommend keeping track of which jobs you do each month (there’s a tab for this on the free tracker sheet) as it makes it easier if you are working across apps. Roamler does let you run off an annual report, but unaware if any of the others do.
Also, you should be able to claim up to 45p per mile that you do whilst travelling to stores to complete these jobs. This will be claimed as an expense to reduce your taxable profit and is based on HMRC's own approved rates shown here.
Questions?
I realise this is quite a lengthy guide but I wanted to make sure I covered off most of the bits I got asked last time! If there are any extra questions you have feel free to drop me a message and I’ll be more than happy to help!