Competitor Audits

Monitor your competitor’s compliance, customer service and operations

Serve Legal can provide independent, accurate market intelligence on your competitors, performing mystery shopping audits to their stores, delivery services and e-commerce.

Fast insight with reports shared within 48 hours of the visit

Whole-estate delivery within weeks, even across large multi-site estates

Market-leading compliance auditing provider trusted by major retailers

Any Serve Legal audit type applied to competitors

How Serve Legal can help

The Risk

In today’s competitive business landscape, staying ahead demands a deep understanding of your rivals. Failing to monitor your competitors can leave you blindsided, potentially leading to missed opportunities, revenue loss and strategic setbacks.

Ignoring the competitive environment in which your business operates in could result in lost market share, outdated strategies, and decreased customer engagement.

How Serve Legal helps

At Serve Legal, we recognise that knowledge is power and provding a radar on your competitors is a valuable tool. Our audits allow you to benchmark your own performance versus your key competitors’ compliance, empowering your business with knowledge, helping you to identify competitive opportunities for future growth.

Learn More about our Data and Analytics Offering

Data and Analytics Reporting

We don’t just run audits, we turn them into live, actionable intelligence. Our investment in data, software and automation goes far beyond industry norms, giving our clients faster insight, lower reporting costs, and a genuine competitive edge. Take a look at our reporting ecosystem, combining interactive Power BI dashboards, AI-powered data assurance and a developer-friendly REST API, helping you take control of compliance performance across your organisation.

Learn More about our Data and Analytics Offering

Our success stories

“We have worked with Serve Legal since 2008. During that time they have conducted over 14,000 audits to all of our stores in Scotland, North of England and Northern Ireland. Several stores are in very remote areas, as far north as Wick and Thurso. Serve Legal has always been able to visit any store that we have requested no matter how challenging the location. The audit reports are always delivered in an accurate and timely manner and the management team have a pro-active approach and are always looking for ways to improve their service to their customers. We would have no hesitation in recommending Serve Legal to others.”

“We use Serve Legal regularly to carry out tests on our compliance with age restricted sales. This includes tobacco and the recently introduced tobacco display ban. They deliver a reliable and efficient service within agreed deadlines and with very few data errors. They are able to swiftly provide accurate analysis of our data which helps with our training and future testing programs.”

“We have worked with Serve Legal since 2014 and they have significantly helped us to combat illegal broadcasting in the UK and Ireland. Their knowledge, expertise and robust auditing in conjunction with the prompt supply of infringement data has generated over 8,000 leads; which has led to valuable leads for our sales force and investigation team to defend our investment in exclusive sports content. Serve Legal have consistently delivered against agreed KPIs.”

“We have worked with Serve Legal since 2009 and they have helped us to significantly reduce our risk with age-restricted sales. They have played a key role in monitoring our risk across a range of age-restricted products. Their knowledge, speed of service and flexible data provision helps us to sharpen our training and inform our future approach to compliance.”

“The Serve Legal information is extremely useful, informative and well presented. The issues with sites not using ‘Challenge 25’ can now be dealt with the backing of evidence of where they’re failing. I am most pleased with how the surveys are being conducted and appreciate the detailed information provided.”

“Using an independent test purchase service such as Serve Legal demonstrates to the local authorities that I am taking the issue of underage sales seriously. The due diligence provided is invaluable and has played an important role in defending my license in a recent licensing hearing.”

“We have worked with Serve Legal since 2008. The visit reports are always delivered in an accurate and timely manner. The accuracy and consistency of the information provided has allowed us to identify training needs, target resource, protect our business and improve our compliance. I would have no hesitation in recommending Serve Legal to others.”

“We use Serve Legal monthly to conduct test purchases of alcohol, in order to monitor our adherence to our Challenge 25 policy. This is also extended to campaigns of test purchasing on other age-restricted products. The professionalism and flexibility they offer has assisted us in improving our compliance levels, and where required, using targeted activity. The online portal provides easy to read data in a timely fashion for reporting.”

“We have worked with Serve Legal since 2009 and they have helped us to significantly reduce our risk with age restricted sales. They have played a key role in monitoring our risk across a wide range of age restricted products. Their knowledge, speed of service and flexible data provision helps us to sharpen our training and inform our future approach to compliance.”

“Serve Legal was appointed by my company in order that we gain valued feedback from a licensing perspective. The relationship between Serve legal and my business is friendly, professional and feels personal. The feedback we have gained is invaluable to our operation, we have been able to use the data to make changes in our business to ensure a risk free operation. I would highly recommend.”

Frequently asked questions

What do you audit at competitor sites?

We can assess competitor compliance, customer service and operations—the same way you’d audit your own business. Each audit process can be tailored to your industry and objectives; we can customise the audit approach to suit your requirements.

Can we add extra checks without launching a separate programme?

Yes. You can add bolt-on checks (e.g., promotional compliance, retail compliance, customer experience, venue safety) so the audit stays bespoke without creating a whole new programme.

Can you cover our whole estate (and competitor sites) nationally?

Yes. Serve Legal delivers audits across the UK and Ireland, with a nationwide 16+ auditor community and the ability to audit entire estates within weeks. We now also offer international reach, covering 6 continents.

About us

In early 2006, Ed Heaver and Julian Sargeson were alcohol retailers with a problem. The local authority had decided one of their sites was consistently serving underage people.

They wanted to check their staff, measure the site performance and demonstrate to the authority they were taking the issue seriously. They couldn't find a company providing a cost-effective service, so they decided to do it themselves.

The business has since grown to become the market leading provider of compliance auditing services in the UK & Ireland, and a leading voice in the conversations around age-verification and food allergy policy.

Our Customer Experience Allergen audit has been designed in collaboration with an experienced Environmental Health Practitioner and is approved by Trading Standards.