Female Customers Get Dates In Exchange for Buying Shoes in Malaysia

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

Buying shoes is one of those things you don't need an actual reason to do, but the Malaysian retailer Shoes Shoes Shoes is making the prospect of new footwear even more enticing, by throwing in the prospect of a date. The company has partnered with dating site Lunch Actually and the radio station Capital FM on one extremely stunt-y promo. According to Springwise, here's how it works:

Men signed up to Lunch Actually are encouraged to select from a list of 20 shoe makes they would like their potential partner to wear. They also pick a percentage of the sale price they are willing to pay in return for a date. When women purchase footwear from the selection at Shoes Shoes Shoes, they are matched with the men who liked their chosen pair and receive the promised discount after the first date.

Basically, ladies, nothing is for free: You've got to actually go on the date to get the discount. So, is this kind of a borderline going on a date for a shoe discount scenario, or are you meant to consider the savings just an added perk of meeting your Prince Charming, who has suspiciously discerning taste in women's footwear?
· Female shoppers matched up with dates when they buy a pair of shoes [Springwise]