Cupid's Arrow Cuts Through Recession

Perrysburg, OH Ron Welty, President of IntelliShop, a customer experience measurement firm, has announced the firm's participation in the Benchmark Collaborative's Valentine's Day consumer survey. The Benchmark Collaborative survey results indicated that even with the economic woes facing our nation, Americans are still eager to play Cupid this Valentine's Day. The survey asked 1397 consumers in the U.S. about their spending intentions for the coming week. The study, conducted February 6-10, indicated that approximately two-thirds of Americans within various income brackets intend to spend the same amount or more then they spent on Valentine’s Day gifts last year. The survey also revealed that, predictably, dining out and candy are the top gifts this year. Not so predictably, just about as many people plan to give books compared to the traditional gift of flowers. Complete results are available by contacting IntelliShop, at info@intelli-shop.com or 877.894.6349.

“We are thrilled to be part of the Benchmark Collaborative and even more pleased to have some good news to report to our clients. This tough economy makes restaurant and retail customers less forgiving, so the customer experience is more important than ever. We are advising clients to prepare to intensify their efforts to provide stellar customer experiences during the next few days. If customer traffic is lighter than in prior years, customer retention will be key."

About IntelliShop

IntelliShop is a customer experience measurement firm specializing in mystery shopping services, customer satisfaction surveys and onsite audits for retail, automotive, banking, and food service businesses. Formed in 1999, IntelliShop conducts mystery shops in the U.S., Canada, Central America and the Middle East using its over 200,000 independently contracted mystery shoppers. The firm is a member of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA), and Ron Welty, President, is in his sixth year serving on its Board of Directors. IntelliShop is accredited by the Better Business Bureau of Toledo. Learn more about IntelliShop at www.intelli-shop.com

About The Benchmark Collaborative

With offices in Chicago, Perrysburg, Las Vegas, Boston, Cary NC, St. Louis, Bangalore India and Bern Switzerland, and alliances with mystery shopping companies throughout the world, the Benchmark Collaborative provides clients with proven mystery shopping and customer experience measurement solutions through its four highly respected partner companies. Clients receive the highly attentive service and spirit found in entrepreneurial companies, while at the same time saving significant time administering their programs and finding it much easier to access and more accurately analyze their results. The partner companies in The Benchmark Collaborative serve clients in over 25 industries, including all sectors of business-to-consumer and many business-to-business clients. Learn more by visiting www.benchmarkco.com.