2.0 & Partners’ Strategic Mystery Shopping programme is built to generate actionable intelligence.

2.0 & Partners has announced a new partnership with Venice Marco Polo Airport to implement its Strategic Mystery Shopping programme, reinforcing its position as a specialist provider of insight-led services within the travel retail sector.

The programme has been designed specifically to address the increasing complexity of airport retail environments, where premiumisation, operational pressures and diverse passenger profiles demand a more nuanced understanding of the shopper journey. Traditional feedback tools often fall short in capturing real-time interactions on the shop floor, particularly in fast-paced travel settings.

2.0 & Partners’ Strategic Mystery Shopping approach focuses on qualitative observation across both retail and food & beverage environments, delivering deeper insights into service delivery, customer engagement and operational performance. Rather than relying on rigid checklists, the methodology is tailored to travel retail, capturing the behaviours and interactions that genuinely influence shopper perception and conversion.

The programme is built to generate actionable intelligence, with detailed reporting enabling partners to identify specific areas for improvement while supporting targeted, insight-led training initiatives aimed at enhancing frontline performance.

A key differentiator is the calibre of assessors involved. All mystery shopping visits are conducted by professionals with direct experience in retail and F&B. Each assessor undergoes dedicated training in travel retail dynamics and service behaviours, ensuring that observations are both consistent and operationally relevant.

Erika Giannini, Head of CXM at 2.0 & Partners, said: “Airports today operate in increasingly complex commercial environments. Understanding the real experience of travellers in-store and across the airport journey is essential if we want to elevate service standards. Strategic Mystery Shopping is designed to move beyond generic measurement and provide partners with meaningful insights that can support better training, better planning and stronger frontline execution.”

With this agreement, Venice Marco Polo Airport becomes the latest airport to adopt the Strategic Mystery Shopping framework, reflecting a broader industry shift towards data-driven, experience-led approaches to service excellence.

The initiative forms part of 2.0 & Partners’ wider Customer Experience Management (CXM) suite, underpinned by its “Measure. Train. Coach.” philosophy, where real operational insight drives continuous improvement across frontline teams.

READ MORE: Avolta and 2.0 & Partners launch e-learning training for frontline staff

READ MORE: 2.0 & Partners appoints Cheryl Beall to drive US market focus

READ MORE: 2.0 & Partners unveils new bespoke Measure Train Coach framework