Boohoo accused of sexism after offering women discounts for feeling 'second best' during World Cup

The retailer has been accused of resorting to 'lazy' gender stereotypes

(Getty/iStock)

Boohoo has been criticised for offering women a discount during World Cup games, implying that they would rather shop online than watch the football.

It's a move that has left customers outraged, with many accusing the online retailer of endorsing lazy gender stereotypes.

Customers were offered a 25 per cent discount during the England v Tunisia game and a 20 per cent discount during the England v Panama match.

In one email sent out to promote the offer, the brand wrote: "He's watching the football again. It's your perfect excuse to shop" and another read "feeling second best? Put yourself first and shop while he watches the footy."

One 27-year-old student has vowed to boycott the brand in light of the discounts, which have also sparked a furore on social media.

"I was annoyed about it because it resorts to lazy gender stereotypes that assumes men are all into football and women are shopaholics," Rebecca Lees said.

"It also implies that their female customers will all be heterosexual and it ignores the fact that some customers could be fans of football themselves."

She added that the promotion left her confused and disappointed at the brand's apparent lack of social awareness.

A spokesperson for Boohoo has since apologised with the following statement: "At Boohoo customer satisfaction is our utmost priority. Gender equality and diversity is extremely important to us and we are sorry that this particular marketing communication has caused offence, this was not intended.

"We continue to focus on promoting gender equality within our ranges, as evidenced by our recent #loveislove collection, and we will ensure that going forward this is reflected within our campaigns."

Elsewhere, Boohoo has been applauded for championing body positivity by not editing out a model’s stretchmarks on its website.

A screenshot taken from the online retailer went viral on social media after one shopper spotted that a model wearing an open-back yellow leotard was pictured proudly sporting stretchmarks on her thighs.

Cheryl Adele posted the snap on Facebook, writing: “I find this so amazing!” and praised the brand for encouraging its customers to embrace their so-called "flaws".

“That even a massive clothing brand like Boohoo have haven’t photoshopped the model’s stretchmarks!

“This is what girl power is all about! And every woman has imperfections.”

Adele urged other brands to take note, writing that retailers shouldn’t ever edit stretchmarks out as they appear on model’s bodies as this gives shoppers “unrealistic expectations” and presents them with inauthentic depiction of what women’s bodies look like.

Her post has been liked more than 109,000 times, garnering 69,000 shares and 3,600 comments.

“This is the reality of a woman’s body. It’s beautiful and tells a story,” wrote one person.

“I think it’s a fantastic idea to stop photoshopping these images,” added another.

“Imperfections make us normal more beautiful.”