A team of mystery shoppers and city assessors will be heading to Ruthin in Denbighshire next week to rate the town’s shopping experience.
The Location Model designed by Skillsmart Retail, the Sector Skills Council for Retail, is being used to assess how well Ruthin performs in a number of different areas, from car parking to town centre cleanliness.
The project is being funded by Denbighshire County Council to gain an overview of the shopping in the area and how it can be improved to support local retailers and fulfil customer demands.
As part of the project, Ruthin town centre will be audited. This will focus on how easy it is for a stranger to shop in the town – even the smallest of details will be judged such as how easy it is for shoppers to cross roads. The auditor will also assess the location of basic landmarks including the Post Office and library.
Thirty independent retailers in the town will be mystery shopped as part of the research. Trained market research professionals will visit each participating independent shop twice to judge how well they are performing in areas such as customer service, product knowledge and window display.
As well as this, 100 shoppers in the town centre will be interviewed to find out how satisfied or dissatisfied they are with the town and any improvements they would like to see.
Michelle Rendell, Business Growth Officer from Denbighshire County Council said: “The Location Model is a great way for us to find out about shoppers’ experiences. Ruthin is a beautiful town, with many great independent retailers, which are enjoyed by residents and visitors. We want to support these retailers and help them flourish, especially in these difficult times.
“Independent retailers rarely get the opportunity for comprehensive feedback on their businesses. The mystery shopping survey will help our retailers to provide the standard of service that will encourage customers to return to shop again and again.”
The Location Model has already been successfully used in more than 80 locations in Great Britain, from Aberdeen to Newport.
Anne Seaman, Chief Executive of Skillsmart Retail said: “This is a great opportunity for the independent retailers to get some unbiased feedback on their service and give the town’s leaders and businesses up-to-date information about the town to help them plan how to develop and promote the area in the future.
“Once the Location Model results are announced, there will be numerous opportunities for retailers to take advantage of training, to ensure the improvements identified can be made.”
This Monday the National Skills Academy for Retail launched in Wales, providing
retailers across the country access to retail training. All retailers that take part in the research will be offered further advice and support on training.
Full results from the will be revealed at a special ceremony onTuesday 7 February 2012 at Ruthin Castle.
