Chinese shopping mall installs 'husband storage' facilities for bored partners

Free glass pods contain chair and games computer in attempt to solve perennial problem

The 'husband storage' facilities at the Shanghai mall (Screenshot from Macy Studio footage)

Go to any department store and you are likely to find bored-looking men hanging around the exit while their female partners shop ‘til they drop.

Now one Chinese shopping mall has invented a solution.

Shanghai’s Global Harbour mall has installed “husband storage” facilities, reported The Paper.

The facilities are glass pods with a chair and gaming computer, on which users can play retro 1990s games to their heart’s content.

The pods are currently free, but mall staff told The Paper that in future users will have to pay a small amount by scanning a QR code on their phones.

One user, Mr Yang, said the pods are "really great”, adding: “I've just played Tekken 3 and felt like I was back at school!"

But there’s still a little comfort to be desired, said another user, Mr Wu.

"There's no ventilation or air conditioning, I sat playing for five minutes and was drenched in sweat."

The pods are not the first attempt at solving the problem of bored husbands in shopping malls.

Another Shanghai complex, the Vanke mall, opened a "husband nursery" in November, reported Mashable.

The large room had comfy chairs, TVs, stocked fridges and even a massage chair.