We’ve all been there, reading a job description and trying to picture ourselves doing that job. Hopefully, you can imagine yourself not only enjoying but also being successful in the job you are applying for. When searching for a job you will always come across some positions that intrigue you and appear to be an ideal fit, carrying you away to daydream about the perfect job. On the other hand, you will also come across some job descriptions that will make you want to run the other way screaming. So what category do the “lapel” or “covert” positions advertised on Headway’s website fall into, for you? We encourage you to let those terms intrigue you, rather than scare you away!

Lapel work contributes to prices set in our neighborhood grocery store.

Many of the projects that we recruit for at Headway involve market and survey research. Due the very nature of the information being gathered, data must sometimes be collected discretely. For Headway and our market research clients, preserving integrity of the data collected is of the utmost importance. Research data is collected throughout virtually every industry; usually to understand trends and drive economic growth. One example of the value of covertly collected data can be seen when business competitively price items. If Company A knows that Company B is selling apple juice at $1.50, they may reduce their prices to undercut or match their competition. The collection of competitive prices allows businesses to make competitive marketing decisions which benefits consumers by ultimately getting them the best prices and deals. As consumers, we reap the benefits of price cuts as a result of covert data collection.

This covert practice of blending in with consumers in order to capture the data in real time goes by many names. It can be referred to as a secret shopper, data collector, or observer. However, we define this discreet form of data collection as “lapel work”. Lapel work has the air of a mystery shopper with the diligence and detail of an accountant. This work is referred to as “lapel” because before the advent of the technology we have today, data collectors actually wore small microphones on the lapel of their jacket and spoke the data into those microphones.

Thankfully, with the emergence of applications such as Shopkick, Ibotta, and Target Cartwheel, data collectors are now radically camouflaged on their lapel assignments.

Thankfully, with the emergence of applications such as Shopkick, Ibotta, and Target Cartwheel, data collectors are now radically camouflaged on their lapel assignments. These advances in technology allow us to infiltrate markets across the US order to collect authentic and unbiased information. With this data, our clients are able to make analytically structured decisions regarding their industry and market conditions.

The key to understanding lapel work is understanding the intention and purpose of the data being collected. Quite simply, some of this data cannot be collected without going “undercover”, because corporations and employees may knowingly or unknowingly influence the data. Covertly collected data is more accurate, because no one has the opportunity to influence the information. Is it corporate espionage? Absolutely. But is it illegal? Not at all. In fact it is actually a widely used, incredibly common, and a legitimate business practice which allows companies to remain competitive within the marketplace. Obviously, nobody wants to give the edge to their competition, hence the need for lapel work. We want to capture what the prices would be for any typical consumer purchasing a product on any given day.

Often times when job seekers come across positions that require lapel assignments or work done in a covert nature, they shy away from them. While you are reading those job descriptions and envisioning yourself doing the job, we encourage you to embrace what may make you skeptical. Every job is an opportunity for growth and improvement, to do something that you’ve never done before in order to gain perspective and experience. And remember: hundreds of people are doing this job every day. Keep an eye out next time you are shopping; could that shopper next to you actually be a lapel data collector?

Secret Shopper checks prices using a handheld device

Article Contributions By: Taylor Sakey, Maggie Medina, Carley Wilson, Rachael Langry

Coming up next week – Secret Agents of Retail