“Boxed Out” coincides with Amazon Prime Day, when the online giant offers special deals to its members. “We're hoping that people will understand the juxtaposition and support their local stores,” says booksellers association CEO Allison Hill. Payless, for instance, continued to struggle after the Palessi campaign, filed for bankruptcy in 2019 and closed all of its U.S. stores. Hill said she was more impressed by a campaign from 2015 on behalf of Jesse's bodega in Brooklyn, near the headquarters of DCX. I think people realize how fragile we are because of the pandemic, and my hope of this campaign is that it's the beginning of a conversation."

Payless is bouncing back. The discount shoe chain is planning to open 300 to 400 standalone stores across the U.S. over the next few years. You can find shoes for as low as about $10 a pair and the company knows saving money is really important to people right now. Payless said its website will reopen for business on TuesdayBut the first new store is set to open in November in Miami, where the company's new headquarters are. Then 30 to 45 stores will open up early next year in Texas and other border states.