Shopping for Love is an Australian television program.

Airing at 10.30pm on Wednesday nights on the Nine Network

Nine Network

The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...

, it is hosted by Pete Lazer

Pete Lazer

Pete Lazer is an Australian television presenter and emcee.Beginning his career as a model for Bolle sunglasses in the late 1990s, he also appeared in commercials for Wave flavoured milk and Sportsco in Australia, as well as Hyundai and Telecom Korea in Korea...

 http://www.petelazer.com and Andi Lew http://www.andilew.com and premiere

Premiere

A premiere is generally "a first performance". This can refer to plays, films, television programs, operas, symphonies, ballets and so on. Premieres for theatrical, musical and other cultural presentations can become extravagant affairs, attracting large numbers of socialites and much media...

d on December 4, 2005. Its concept is a reality show, whereby a contestant is chosen (both a male and a female) with two potential dates. Based on a review of the contestant's household, the potential date goes shopping at department stores and has a time limit to purchase products which it feels will most suit their date. The contestant finally chooses their partner based on a compatibility percentage and other factors, and the contestant takes his chosen partner on a date, to which they reveal details of on the show.

The show features product placements from companies such as Virgin Credit Cards

Virgin Group

Virgin Group Limited is a British branded venture capital conglomerate organisation founded by business tycoon Richard Branson. The core business areas are travel, entertainment and lifestyle. Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by Companies House, who class it as a holding...

.

Locations

The show is filmed at Chadstone Shopping Centre

Chadstone Shopping Centre

Chadstone Shopping Centre is a super regional shopping centre located in the inner south-eastern suburb of Malvern East in the city of Melbourne, Australia...

 and the Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex in Melbourne.

Criticism

The show has critics and fans. Although some claim it was "scolded by Critics and viewers alike" the programs' ratings suggest this is not entirely accurate - the program regularly won its timeslot. The first season ran its allocated 10 episodes, scheduled in a latenight slot due to its frankness in discussing the sexual antics of contestants. A second season was given the go ahead, and screened in Australia in the summer of 2006/2007.

While some found the commercial sponsorship in the show amounted to "a half hour advertisement", sponsor spots such as contestant prizes would not be out of place in most tv game shows. Some called it "cheap and tacky", whilst others felt the production values were consistently high. The program was made with Digital widesceen pictures and a Dolby Digital sound mix.