shoplifting skills got good enough to steal better shoes elsewhere, I don't understand why someone would steal $5 shoes. Like you said though, if she was that desperate for shoes, let her have them.
We regularly have repeat customers spend $1-2K on clothes (with discounts, the haul is usually 10-30 items, depending on if the items are sales items or if they're something typically more expensive like jackets or embellished jeans). And yes, I always wonder...why? Unless these women are changing their outfits 3x a day, they're not wearing everything they buy, and most are buying only for themselves, though most also donate their "older" clothes or pass them on to a friend or relative.