Many mystery shoppers have really been struggling over the last few years. The economic crash in the summer of 2008 has certainly had some far-reaching effects. Over the last few years, many mystery shoppers saw other sources of income from part-time and full-time jobs eliminated or significantly decreased, increasing the need to pick up more mystery shopping assignments. Other mystery shoppers who have been more fortunate with other sources of income have been trying to pick up additional assignments to save more and maybe pay off some debts. Adding to this increased demand for jobs are the many new people who have joined the ranks of mystery shopping over the last few years. With this in mind, many mystery shoppers want to know what to expect in the New Year.
Job Availability. In many parts of the country, the economy is continuing to slowly recover. In these areas, you can expect to find greater availability of jobs. In other areas, though, the economic recovery hasn’t yet fully made its presence now, and in these areas, jobs will continue to be more scarce than prior to the 2008 crash. In the coming year, however, generally speaking, you can expect to have a somewhat easier time finding jobs as experts predict the economic recovery to continue.
Assignment Compensation. While the economy is picking up in many parts of the country, lessons of the recovery have been learned by many. Just as individuals have cut back on expenses and downsized, so have many businesses. Companies surely recognize the benefit of the services mystery shoppers offer, yet they largely will not be increasing pay on assignments in the coming year. Generally, you can expect pay to remain relatively level.
The Long Term Outlook. Many economists expect the economic recovery to continue its slow trend through at least 2012, which personal income levels slowly increasing and the unemployment rate slowly decreasing. By the end of 2012, many economists feel that most sectors of the economy will have recovered to levels seen in the early 2000s. When this happens, you can expect some of the mystery shoppers who entered in the business to make ends meet during these hard times to drop back out of the business. You may expect greater ease in finding jobs, and more success in negotiating bonus pay and travel compensation, too.
It is always hard to look into the future and predict what will happen. After all, few people predicted the 2008 crash or several other major economic downturns in recent decades. Surely there were signs that such a crash was going to happen, but the best that economists can do is read the data and analyze it to the best of their abilities. When you look at the industry as well as economic indicators, all signs do point to a slow and steady recovery, and this includes with mystery shopping, too. So while times have been rough for the past few years, it appears that we are about at the end of this long road and about to turn onto a more prosperous road in coming years.