Independent secret shopper audits for cannabis operators.
Above Board conducts discreet, structured secret shopper audits for dispensaries and cannabis brands. We help operators surface compliance risks, experience gaps, and missed sales opportunities before regulators or customers do.
What we evaluate
Each audit follows a consistent, standardized framework designed to evaluate the real customer experience—from in-store interactions to how specific brands and products are presented, discussed, and sold.
Each audit includes:
First impressions & entry experience
Greeting, professionalism, ID flow, and overall tone
Staff engagement & product knowledge
Listening, education, recommendations, accuracy, and confidence—especially when discussing specific brands or products
Compliance & risk indicators
ID handling, language used, signage, and observable compliance gaps that may impact retailers or brand partners
Product presentation & merchandising
Visibility, pricing clarity, organization, and ease of browsing for both house brands and third-party products
Promotions, loyalty & upsell behavior
Whether brand promotions or store offers are mentioned, explained, or missed
Checkout & close
Accuracy, pacing, receipt handling, and final interaction—including how products are positioned at the point of sale
Overall trust & return likelihood
Whether the experience inspires confidence in the store and the brands being sold
Evaluations are scored using a standardized 1–5 framework to allow for comparison across locations, staff, brands, and time periods.
Why Independent Audits
Most cannabis retailers and brands already review their own performance. The difference with an independent audit is objectivity, consistency, and credibility—especially when insights need to be shared across internal teams, retail partners, or external stakeholders.
Internal reviews are often influenced by familiarity, relationships, and expectations. Independent audits remove those variables, capturing how the retail experience actually unfolds for real customers, in real time, across different locations and staff.
People behave differently when they know leadership, brand partners, or compliance teams are observing. They behave most authentically when they believe no one is watching.
Above Board’s audits provide a consistent external benchmark—allowing retailers and brands to align on what’s happening on the floor, identify gaps between strategy and execution, and track performance over time without internal bias.
Who Above Board is for
Above Board works with both cannabis retailers and brands who want a clearer, more objective view of how the retail experience unfolds on the ground.
Retailers use Above Board to understand how their stores perform when no one from leadership is present.
Our audits help retail teams identify compliance risks, experience gaps, and missed sales opportunities across locations and staff. By capturing consistent, real-world observations, retailers can benchmark performance, reinforce training, and spot issues before they become regulatory or customer problems.
Brands use Above Board to see how their products are actually represented at the point of sale.
Independent audits give brands visibility into staff recommendations, product knowledge, merchandising execution, and promotional follow-through across retail partners. This allows brand teams to identify gaps between strategy and execution, support retail relationships with real data, and understand how customers are encountering their products in real retail environments.
In both cases, independence ensures insights are credible, comparable, and actionable—without internal bias or guesswork.
How it works
Above Board conducts discreet, standardized audits designed to reflect real customer interactions—without disrupting staff or operations.
1. Audit Scope is Defined
Each engagement begins by aligning on scope, locations, and focus areas—whether retail experience, brand representation, compliance signals, or a combination of the above.
2. Audits are conducted discreetly
Audits are performed by trained shoppers operating as normal customers, capturing real-world observations across staff interactions, merchandising, promotions, and checkout.
3. Findings are documented and scored
Observations are documented using a standardized 1–5 scoring framework, supported by detailed notes and contextual observations.
4. Insights are delivered clearly
Clients receive a concise summary of findings, key strengths, and opportunities—designed to be actionable, comparable, and easy to share internally or with partners.
The result is a clear, objective snapshot of what’s happening on the floor—without internal bias or guesswork.
Designed for consistency
Every audit follows the same standardized framework, allowing results to be compared across locations, staff, brands, and time periods.
This consistency is what turns individual visits into meaningful operational insight.
What Clients Receive
Each engagement is designed to deliver clear, usable insight—not just observations.
Clients receive:
-
A concise executive summary
A clear overview of findings, key strengths, and priority areas for improvement -
Standardized scoring across evaluation areas
Allowing for easy comparison across locations, staff, brands, or time periods -
Detailed observational notes
Capturing what happened, how it was handled, and where gaps or opportunities appeared -
Compliance and risk visibility
Highlighting observable issues that may require attention from leadership or partners -
Actionable insights
Designed to support operational decisions, training priorities, and brand or retail alignment
For brands, insights focus on product representation, staff recommendations, merchandising execution, and promotional follow-through across retail partners.
Deliverables are structured to be easy to share internally and useful across teams—without added interpretation or spin.
Why Above Board Exists
Above Board exists to bring clarity to the cannabis retail experience—without internal pressure, assumptions, or spin.
As retail operations and brand partnerships grow more complex, operators need independent insight they can trust and share. Above Board was built to provide that visibility with structure, consistency, and discretion.
FAQ
Can't we do this internally?
Many teams do. However, independent audits add objectivity, consistency, and comparability that internal walk-throughs typically can’t replicate—especially across locations, staff, or retail partners.
How is this different from traditional mystery shopping
Many mystery shopping programs are conducted as one-off or loosely structured visits. Above Board uses standardized criteria, consistent shopper personas, and repeatable scoring designed to surface patterns over time—not just isolated observations.
Who typically uses Above Board Audits?
Above Board works with cannabis retailers, brands, and operators who want a clearer view of real-world execution at retail—whether for compliance, training, brand representation, or performance benchmarking.
How disruptive are audits to staff or operations?
Audits are designed to reflect normal customer interactions and do not interfere with day-to-day operations. Staff are not informed in advance.
How is pricing determined?
Engagements are scoped based on audit type, location count, and focus areas. Pricing is confirmed after a brief introductory conversation to ensure the scope aligns with client needs.
Where does Above Board operate
Above Board currently conducts audits in New York State. Additional markets may be supported in the future.
Interested in working together?
Above Board works with cannabis retailers and brands seeking a clearer, independent view of real-world execution at retail.
If that sounds useful, we’re happy to start with a brief introductory conversation.