PLUS x Secret View
18/3/2024
We are very pleased to be partnering with one of the largest supermarket chains in the Netherlands: PLUS! With more than 550 stores, PLUS, after merging with Coop, is among the top three largest service supermarkets in the Netherlands. In the search for a reliable partner to better monitor the process of selling age-restricted products, PLUS came to Secret View. We find it very important not to sell age-restricted products to minors. Therefore, we are happy to contribute to better compliance with rules for age verification for alcohol sales at our clients. After a successful pilot in 2023, the compliance research for PLUS started in January 2024.
Compliance research with mystery shoppers
Supermarkets have a responsibility to prevent the sale of age-restricted products to minors. It is not always easy to accurately estimate someone’s age. That is why it is important that supermarkets properly check the age of their customers by asking for a valid ID when selling age-restricted products. Even if they think the customer is 18 years or older. Employees ask everyone under 25 for identification.
The government monitors compliance with the legislation. If the age is not properly checked and the products are sold, this can result in high fines. But apart from that, supermarkets want to take their responsibility and ensure that no age-restricted products such as alcohol end up in the hands of minors.
In the NIX18 compliance research, our mystery shoppers test whether the store employees properly check their customers when purchasing age-restricted products. The mystery shoppers who carry out these assignments for age verification are between 18 and 21 years old. For example: In this assignment at PLUS, they buy an alcoholic product. The mystery shopper checks whether the store employee asks for identification and uses the tool to check age. This keeps PLUS employees sharp, keeps alcohol out of the hands of minors, and prevents the supermarket from potential fines. After the purchase, the mystery shoppers are obliged to return the alcoholic product and get their money back.
The Secret View method is in line with the general policy of supermarkets to ask for an ID up to 25 years old. Because we consciously work with mystery shoppers between the ages of 18 and 21, store employees are encouraged to also ask young adults for their identification. It turns out that store employees then also do this more quickly with 16-17-year-olds. This makes it easier and more normal for supermarket employees to ask young adults for identification. This makes the age verification more effective and reliable.
Better insight into compliance research
Bart Kragten, Retail Management Specialist at PLUS, indicated that the pilot was a success: ‘’Thanks to the pilot, we have gained a better understanding of how our employees deal with carrying out the ID check when age-restricted products are purchased. We have also seen where there is room for improvement and have applied this directly to the internal compliance research. This has convinced us that Secret View is the best partner to carry out this research with.’’
‘‘The collaboration with Secret View is smooth and the communication is clear. This, together with the pleasant dashboard and the quality of the pilot, makes us confidently enter into a long-term collaboration with Secret View.’’
Do you also want to improve age verification in your supermarket?
Discover the possibilities for your organization, or just contact us!
Would you like to help PLUS with age verification as a mystery shopper?
View all our assignments for PLUS in your region on the platform. Would you like to become a mystery shopper? Register here.
