Payless Opened a Fake Luxury Store To See How Much People Would Pay for Their $20 Shoes
There’s nothing quite like a good old fashioned bait-and-switch scenario. Making consumers believe they’re getting one thing when they’re actually buying something entirely different.
We’ve all heard of Payless shoes? The bargain-priced shoe source where you can get designer knock-offs for much less than you’d pay at department stores?
Growing up, we always went school shopping at Payless ShoeSource. My mom refused to buy us expensive brands we would outgrow in two months.
Payless pranks fashion influencers by opening fake luxury store, got people to pay $600 for $40 shoes https://t.co/544CS1WzdD pic.twitter.com/Xo3pfhMfVY
— KARE 11 (@kare11) November 29, 2018
In 2017, almost 400 Payless retail stores closed down, MarketWatch reported. The company had filed for bankruptcy and was working on restructuring.
Now, in a marketing move that seems like pure genius, the company has conducted an experiment that just might cause you to think twice about spending $400 on your new pair of winter fashion boots.
Are you familiar with Palessi? It’s a new designer shoe source that recently opened in Santa Monica, California. The retailer has their own website and everything.
Payless opened a fake luxury store, ‘Palessi,’ to see how much people would pay for $20 shoes: https://t.co/2Yw54ZxxZY
(Answer? A hell of a lot.) pic.twitter.com/dlCErOpUlv
— Adweek (@Adweek) November 28, 2018
Fashion influencers gathered at a special grand opening event in Santa Monica where consumers excitedly exchanged big bucks for the prestigious brand name, AdWeek reported.
When asked what they would pay for the luxury footwear, people didn’t hesitate to throw out numbers in the hundreds.
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Party on point. ✨ // Fiesta en punto. . *@CSiriano Collins Jewel Sandal – Tap image to shop!
“I would pay $400, $500, yeah,” one shopper said. “People are gonna be like… where’d you get those? Those are amazing!”
What these shoppers didn’t realize, however, was that they were part of the Payless Experiment — an experiment designed to show consumers you can really get more at Payless.
As Dr. Seuss’ children’s story “The Lorax” notes, “You never can tell what some people will buy.” Watch what happens.
When the big reveal was made, consumers were shocked that the shoes they’d just dropped a wad of cash on were actually from Payless.
“Are you serious? Did I just pay too much?” Yes, it would seem so. But the good news is, holiday shoppers can plan on saving big when it comes to grabbing some fashionable wear for their feet this year.
After all, Payless offers most of their styles for between $20 and $40. Not too shabby, if you ask me. Hopefully, shoppers will agree.
With the way things have gone with brick and mortar stores like Payless, Barnes & Noble and Toys ‘R’ Us in recent years, we only hope the discount shoe source will make a bigger and better comeback following this hilarious and brilliant marketing campaign.
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