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Klarna starts the world's first sneaker drop raffle with your heartbeat, since almost 100% of the data traffic for hyped sneaker releases now come from bots

Klarnathe worldwide payment and shopping service has teamed up with the sneaker experts, Highsnobiety, for the world's first sneaker drop with heart rate technology to reward the true passion for sneakers via bots. The global sneaker market is thriving, but sneaker shopping for this enthusiastic community often leaves a bad taste in your mouth, especially when it comes to online sneaker raffles.

The Heartbeats 4 sneakers, launched on July 2, will be raffling off five of the most popular sneakers of the past decade to real sneaker lovers who will start with their heartbeat. This is the first drop of its kind that empowers real sneaker fans to get what they love and ensures that only those with a heartbeat (aka people) can participate to win one of the legendary pairs.

Sneaker bots have long been the curse of the sneakerhead community and have two functions: they increase the chances of success in a raffle by creating numerous accounts, and when you buy, you can check out items in just 0.2 seconds. Both prevent fans from getting a chance to get a pair of limited-edition sneakers when they're released.

It is estimated that almost 100% of the traffic on hyped sneaker releases comes from bots, with many of these sneakers then appearing for resale at multiples of their retail value. The problem has become so great that sneaker fans are even investing between £ 300 and £ 4,000 (GBP) in a bot to increase their chances of winning the latest sneakers.

Only those who can demonstrate their passion for sneakers can take part in the raffle draw for Heartbeats 4 sneakers. Using new technologies, the heart rate of a sneaker head is measured by placing the fingertip on the camera lens of a smartphone or desktop and only entering those who have a heart that beats for sneakers.

The drop, curated by sneaker experts Highsnobiety, offers sneakerheads the opportunity to get their hands on some of the most well-known and sought-after sneakers of the past decade, such as Adidas Originals Yeezy Boost 750 OG (2015), acronym x Nike Presto Mid (2016), Virgil Abloh x Nike Air Jordan 1 Chicago (2017), Sean Wotherspoon x Nike Air Max 97/1 (2017) and Daniel Arsham x Adidas Futurecraft 4D (2018).

David Sandstrom, CMO at Klarna, commented: “At Klarna, we believe that everyone should get what they love in life and when shopping. For this reason, we developed Heartbeats 4 sneakers especially for the sneaker community. Finally, a sneaker raffle in which your chance of winning is based solely on your love of sneakers, not on your access to bots or special information, to ensure that only those who really love sneakers are the rightful owners. "

Fabian Gorsler, editor of Highsnobiety Sportswear and sneaker expert, commented: “These five sneakers have since been selected because of their impact on dropping and their continued impact on sneaker culture. This raffle gives sneakerheads the chance to get their hands on some of the most famous and sought-after collaborations in recent years without the additional, unfair competition of the bots. "

The Heartbeats 4 sneakers campaign is the epitome of Klarna's commitment to provide every shopper with a smooth shopping and payment experience, and enabling customers everywhere to get what they love today.