Alicante, Spain. Someone had to do it.
I recently attended the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) European meeting, and I’ll admit, it’s hard to complain about a conference with that backdrop. But beyond the sunshine and paella, this one genuinely meant something to me.
As a founding member of the original MSPA chapter in the US 28 years ago, I can’t help but feel like a proud uncle watching this European chapter thrive. Mystery shopping companies have emerged from virtually every corner of the continent, and this year’s meeting drew representatives from over 30 countries. That alone is remarkable, but what really stopped me in my tracks was learning that our colleagues from Ukraine endured 30 hours of travel, navigating a country at war, just to be there. We happen to have a few Ukrainian employees ourselves, and moments like that have a way of reminding you how much we take our own situation for granted here in the US.
An Industry Built on Friendly Competitors
One of the things that makes mystery shopping genuinely unique is the culture of collaboration that exists among what would otherwise be competing companies. As a global provider, we face numerous challenges, including language barriers, currency differences, and markets where mystery shopping is still a relatively new concept. Over the years, we’ve built partnerships across borders that are mutually beneficial and, frankly, pretty fun. You don’t find that in every industry.
The AI Conversation — and Where We Actually Stand
No surprise: AI was the dominant theme of the conference. (I told someone I hope to be retired before the main theme is robots. They didn’t laugh as much as I expected.)
What was genuinely exciting, though, was seeing where we stand relative to the rest of the field. The landscape broke down roughly into three groups: larger platforms that are still in the planning stages for AI integration, smaller platforms that have made some progress but haven’t proven themselves on a global scale, and then there’s us.
I’m the creator of SASSIE, built by Live Shopper, the first web-based mystery shopping software, launched in 1999, and now the first globally adopted platform to incorporate AI. While others were presenting roadmaps and timelines, our clients are already seeing AI at work: in proofreading accuracy, account management, and analytics. And we’re just getting started, scheduling and training are next on the horizon, and the conference gave us a fantastic runway of ideas to accelerate that work.
The meeting was equal parts inspiration and temperature check. We came home knowing exactly where the industry is headed and confident we’re already ahead of it.
2026 is going to be a big year. Stay tuned.
Next year’s conference: Thessaloniki, Greece.
I know. Tough life.
— Tommy Mills, CEO
