Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook
Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds $26,000 Inside Seller tries to get half the cash back, fails »

Cash-Strapped Shoppers Remember Layaway

No-interest credit appeals to consumers

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 10, 2008 1:59 PM CST
Email

(Newser) – With consumers strapped and credit short, retailers are reviving an older kind of financing: layaway. Although the arrangement was considered obsolete when Wal-Mart closed its layaway department in 2006, retailers such as TJ Maxx, Goody’s, Marshalls and the Burlington Coat Factory have moved to offer the service, especially as the holiday season approaches. MSNBC takes a look.

"A lot of people don’t have a lot of money right now,” or have restricted credit, explains on Kmart manager, “but they want to have a good Christmas.” Consumers wary of credit card debt like the fact that putting merchandise on layaway usually involves just a flat service fee, not interest charges, on top of the cost of the item. “Companies with layaway programs are essentially offering their customers free credit,” says one economist.

Shoppers stand in the checkout line at Steve & Barry's clothing store on Tuesday, June 3, 2008, in New York.
Shoppers stand in the checkout line at Steve & Barry's clothing store on Tuesday, June 3, 2008, in New York.   (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Checkout lines back up just after a Target store opened for the holiday shopping season in Aurora, Colo., early Friday, Nov. 23, 2007.
Checkout lines back up just after a Target store opened for the holiday shopping season in Aurora, Colo., early Friday, Nov. 23, 2007.   (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
A customer checks out hardware at a Sears store in Niles, Ill., Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2007.
A customer checks out hardware at a Sears store in Niles, Ill., Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2007.   (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Be the first to comment on this story.

Depression-era payment method makes a comeback
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Shoppers looking for deals say social networking yields the best bargains
MarketWatch

 
retail • credit • credit crisis • retail sales • holiday shopping • Kmart • Walmart • T.J. Maxx • financial crisis • layaway

More Newser Stories

Shoppers Can't Halt Commercial Mortgage Crisis

Economic Squeeze Means Merry Christmas for Wal-Mart

Secret Santas Wipe Away Strangers' Layaway Debts

Walmart Rolls Out Free Shipping

Black Friday Brings Out the Shoppers
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne