Army wives love to shop. Now get paid for it.

A lot of Army Wives ask me what they can do while their husbands are posted in small tucked away towns. There are many options really, both to make some money and have some fun. Let me delve in detail about one of them that lets you have fun without the pressure of being called a spendthrift 😉 What’s more, you can treat your friends and family too !Most cities that have a mystery shopping audits are listed below. If you’re not posted to one of the ones below, don’t worry, just apply. The way India is growing, I’m sure something will come up in your city too.

Cities in India where Mystery Shopping Audits are available

Andhra Pradesh: Hyderabad, Bhimavaram, Guntur, Hamankonda, Habdiguda, Karimnagar, Kakinada, Khaman, Kothagudem, Nellore, Nizamabad, Rajamundhry, Tirupati, Vishakhapattnam, Guntur, Warangal, Tadepalligudem, Nellore

Arunachal Pradesh: Nahalogun

Assam: Nagaon, Silichar, Guwahati

Bihar: Patna, Muzzafarnagar, Bodhgaya, Muzzafarpur, Begusarai

Chattisgarh: Bilaspur, Raipur, Pandri, Bhillai, Korba

Delhi NCR: Delhi, Gurgaon, NOIDA

Gujarat: Surat, Ahmedabad, Vapi, Anand, Bharuch, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Nadiad, Jamnagar, Valsad

Haryana: Kurukshetra, Rohtak, Hisar, Sirsa, Ambala, Karnal, Sonipat, Rewari

Himachal Pradesh: Baddi, Kangra

Jammu and Kashmir: Srinagar, Jammu, Kathua

Jharkhand: Jamshedpur, Ranchi, Deogarh, Dhanbad

Karnataka:  Bengaluru, Hassan, Raichur, Tumkur, Vidyaranpura, Bellary, Hospet, Devnagar, Karwar, Bhatkal. Sirsi, Kundapura, Shimoga, Hampankatta, Bijapur, Mangalore, Dharwad, Belgaum, Gulbarga, Bagalkot

Kerala: Calicut, Cochin, Trivandrum, Kollam, Tiruvalla, Thrissur, Allepy, Todupuzha, Palghat, Karunagappally, Muvattupuza, Kozencherry, Aluva, Manjery, Vatakaran, Wayanad

Madhya Pradesh: Jabalpur, Bhopal, Satna

Manipur: Imphal

Meghalaya: Shillong

Maharashtra: Mumbai, Aurangabad, Jalgaon, Amravati, Akola, Latur, Kolhapur, Solapur, Satara, Karad, Ahmednagar, Sangamner

Nagaland: Dimapur

Orissa: Jharsugua, Sudargarh, Angul, Bhubaneshwar

Punjab: Chandigarh, Bhatinda, Patiala, Abohar, Pathankot, Nawanshar, Ambala, Zirakpur, Panchkula, Barnala, Gurasdaspur, Ferozpur

Rajasthan: Kota, Bikaner, Alwar, Ajmer, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Sri Ganganagar, Sikar

Sikkim: Gangtok

Tamil Nadu: Chennai, Thillai Nagar, Vellore, Karur, Sivakasi, Tirupati, Tiruneveli,  Kumbakonam, Tutikoin, Mettupaloyam, Pollachi, Madri, Erode, Pondicherry, Thanjavur, Kanchipuram, Mayiladuthurai, Tuticorin, Tirupur, Namakkal

Uttar Pradesh: Agra, Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Agra, Gorakhpur, Meerut, Bareily, Moradabad, Aligarh, Jhansi, Sahranpur, Shahjahanpur, Bijnor

Uttarakhand: Dehradun, Rishikesh, Kashipur, Haldwani, Rudrapur

West Bengal: Kolkata, Siliguri, Durgapur, Asansol

Mystery Shopping is a win win situation. Everyone loves to shop, eat and explore more places in town. And Olivians (I find the term ‘Army Wives’, a little too dependant on the husband’s career) definitely observe more, both the positive as well as the negative aspects. So combining both these strengths, what if you were paid to give your reviews? Awesome, I know !

Mystery shopping audits are conducted by authorised inspection agencies who hire freelance auditors to conduct these visits and write a review. Often, there is a small test that you need to pass that will enable you to be a part of the panel and then you can subscribe to their upcoming audits and apply for them online. There are many Indian companies that will give you an opportunity to shop and get paid for your reviews. India has just started warming up to it, so better sign up before it’s too late. Mint published a story on it, click here to read. Some of the mystery shopping agencies you could sign up for are;

1. Onion Insights

2. HS Brands

3. MRSS India

4. Beck & Check

5. SHAW Hotels & Consultancy

6. TRANS MR Consulting

7. Albatross Global Solutions

8. ChannelPlay

9. Red Quanta

A few things to keep in mind:

1. Every mystery shopper gets rated so write your reviews seriously.

2. Be committed to the timeline otherwise your mystery shopping audit will get cancelled.

3. Read the guidelines before you go. Make sure you haven’t missed anything. Incomplete mystery shopping audits are not accepted.

Keep me posted if you get accepted and how your first mystery shopping audit goes 🙂

Also comment below, in case you know of any other companies offering mystery shopping and you would like me add them to the list.