FashIntern --this reminds me of an ad from my childhood that was filmed in a NYC resturant and the subsitiute out something (spaghetti sauce?)..and the customers were "shocked"....
anyway....i couldn't read the article you link to on adweek because it required me to registar, but i did goggle it because i was interested....here's my take...
yes, some people were fooled, and yes, price and ambiance impact our perception...but here's the things that bothered me....the influencers who attended were paid to be there, maybe not much, but, still paid. and as they were paid just to show up, i'm sure many of them were counting on a larger pay out, and or more exposure which would increase their "influencer status" in the future. also, CNN states that the 2 days the store existed they did $3,000. so assuming an average retail of $200 (sorry, retail math is what i do for a living), that means they sold 15 pairs of shoes...to 80 people who are predisposed to buying fashion.....that's less than a 20% conversion rate.
i'm more interested in what this says about the "influencer" culture....
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/29.....index.html
from the CNN article...
About 80 influencers attended over two nights, according to Payless. They shelled out a total of $3,000. One shopper spent $640 for a pair of boots, which represented an 1,800% markup. Payless, however, returned their money and let them keep the shoes. Payless said the influencers were paid a small stipend to attend.
