Strolling through shops with your smartphone… Job: Photo Shopper

Lately more and more projects can be found on clickworker that can be, or in some cases must be, performed outside the home. Here we present a little photo shopper guide, so that you can hit the streets armed with your smartphone.

Known to experts as point of sales (POS) analysis or product audits, the related job counterparts in the freelance world are collectively termed, for example, mystery shopping, even though strictly speaking no explicit shopping activity takes place. The requirements however are similar: you are asked to visit a store, and take pictures of specific products, shelves or promotional displays, and then upload the photos. Sometimes this job is also combined with 2 or 3 questions about the product presentation. At clickworker we therefore often refer to this kind of task as “photo shopping.”

Example job: Diaper project

A customer requires pictures of a specific brand of diaper products, and would like 300 stores in each Germany, England and America to be visited. Once in the store, photos should be taken of the shelves in the diaper section including all the products of a specific brand.

Theoretically any type of product is a possible candidate for this type of photo shopping job. It may happen for example that personal care and hygiene products, spirits, etc. are to be photographed.

Who can take part in these photo shopper projects?

Anyone interested in working as a photo shopper really does not have to fulfill very many conditions. A smartphone that has a camera with an acceptable picture quality, and internet access is actually all that is required. And as long as jobs are available, you are welcome to visit several stores.

How are these photo shopper projects set up?

You can find these projects just like all other jobs as normal in the workplace job list (and soon also on the iOS app). There are usually easily recognizable by the title “Photo Shopper + Name of Store.”

From the job itself you are taken via a link directly to the upload form, which displays detailed directions, and fields where the pictures are uploaded. As soon as you open the upload page, a window pops up with the request to share your location. Click on “yes” here and then you can get started.

From this point you usually have 24 hours to visit the store and complete the photo shopper job. If you don’t complete it in that time, the job is then released to other clickworkers. As soon as the completed photos are uploaded, ideally directly from the store itself, the job is automatically saved in the workplace. Within a few days the pictures are checked and accepted. Subsequently you can look up your work history, and under job details see if your submission was accepted. Constructive comments provide tips on what can be improved, and what you need to do if a job is rejected. To re-submit corrected photos simply use a new job from the workplace.

A few tips to avoid mistakes when photo shopping

GPS turned on and GEO request accepted?

We always require the address of the store visited. For this reason we additionally ask for the location when the images are uploaded. To avoid problems with the job, the GPS function on your phone should be activated, and the GEO request should be accepted immediately with “yes” upon opening the upload form, otherwise the submit button is greyed out and the job can’t be saved. These settings can also be chosen after the fact, however the upload form then has to be re-loaded again to re-trigger the GEO request.

Before you head to the store: Already assigned locations

At the very top the upload form shows you which stores in your area have already been visited, and which ones we’ve already received results for.

As a rule only one result per store is required. In this way you can always stay on the move and better plan your route.

Last but not least: Instructions followed?

Nothing is more irritating that putting time and effort into a job, and visiting a store, only to then realize when uploading your pictures that you might have overlooked part of the instructions.

Here’s a summary of the top 5 problems:

1) Product Cut Off

No matter which product is supposed to be photographed, it is advisable to be sure that all products can be seen in the picture, and aren’t cut off on the edges. If the product range can’t be captured in one photo (for example if the aisle is too narrow, or there are simply too many products), then just take 2 or more pictures, that together present an overall impression.

2) Missing Category Photos

Little stars * above the upload fields indicate which pictures are required to be included, and which are optional. And all departments won’t always be found in every store.

3) Wrong Angle

In the instructions there are very often detailed directions about which perspective the pictures should be taken from. Sometimes frontal pictures are necessary, other times pictures can be taken slightly from the side. Frequently you will also see the stipulation that the picture include every shelf in the section from top to bottom.

4) Shelf Picture Only Shows One Section

Many customers want to get a general overview of the situation in the store. Narrow aisles or concrete columns can quickly become problems. Always attempt to photograph the entire shelving area. If that’s not possible, then the divide the shelves up into 2 or 3 sections, and take a picture of each one.

5) Pictures out of focus

Customer goals: What is the collected data used for?

The requested photos are used, for example, to check product placement. Is the product being analyzed placed in the center of the shelf, or on the edge? Which other products have been placed directly next to it? Is the positioning potentially different from store to store? How does the design look in comparison to competing products? In this way specific advertising campaigns can also be analyzed at the same time. Manufacturers can then subsequently use this analysis data to optimize and further develop their products.

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