Payless Fools Everyone with a Fake Shoe Store and It Is Glorious

I can’t exactly put it into words why, but this story brings me so much joy! Probably because I’ve been wearing the same pair of shoes for 10 years…and my clothes are even older.

I know I’m just a simpleton, but it kind of blows my mind that people spend HUGE wads of cash on clothing and shoes when it doesn’t really look all that different from the stuff in cheaper stores. But what do I know?

Anyway, Payless, the budget-friendly brand that a lot of people would probably turn their noses up at, decided to play a brilliant trick on “influencers” out there, and it really just goes to show you how much brand matters in influencing the perception of the public.

The people behind the stunt opened up a pop-up shoe store in a Los Angeles mall called “Palessi” (classic) and invited influencers to the opening. The store was stocked with Payless shoes, but with huge markups.

Photo Credit: Instagram, palessi_shoes

Photo Credit: Instagram, palessi_shoes

They even created a fake website and a fake Instagram account. Take a look at this video to see how it all went down.

According to Payless, 80 people shopped at the store over the course of two days and spent around $3,000. One shopper spent $640 on a pair of boots that had been marked up 1,800%.

Payless CEO Sarah Couch said, “The campaign plays off of the enormous discrepancy and aims to remind consumers we are still a relevant place to shop for affordable fashion.”