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Stores revive layaway plans for holiday shoppers as economic crisis tightens
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Layaway makes a comeback this holiday season as consumers look at ways to try to stay within a budget in the current economic crisis. Retailers hope it helps boost business.
BY ELAINE WALKER
The Miami herald – Published November 15TH, 2008
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Olga Valeriano has found an old solution to her new budget crunch this holiday season: shopping on layaway.
The concept that went out of style with the rise of credit cards in the 1990s is making a resurgence this holiday season among shoppers like Valeriano.
At Kmart, she can put 10 percent down and spread out biweekly payments over eight weeks. At the end, she'll have the Guitar Hero and other toys her two sons want in time for Christmas. It's a big help for the stay-at-home mom whose husband's income has suffered with the falloff in construction work.
''This will give us time to get the money together,'' said Valeriano, 44, who was checking out items for layaway this week at a Hollywood Kmart.
Kmart hopes layaway will help lure new customers this holiday season, which is one reason the retailer is aggressively touting the program in national television commercials. And sister company Sears announced plans this week to revive its layaway program after an almost 20-year hiatus. Starting this weekend, Sears shoppers can use layaway at almost all departments, except home appliances and home electronics.
''Consumers told us all of a sudden layaway is relevant to them,'' said Tom Aiello, spokesman for Sears Holdings, parent firm of Kmart and Sears. ``People want to shop smart this holiday season. Layaway has become a real common sense way of staying within a budget and having a good holiday season.''
Layaway first became popular during the Great Depression. But after several decades of consumers used to whipping out the plastic and getting instant gratification, some experts believe the return to more frugal values is a much-needed change.
''It's harder for consumers to get credit and a lot of consumers are already buried in debt,'' said Tony Gao, marketing professor at Northeastern University in Boston. ``Layaway plans are all about delaying gratification. I think that's good for consumers because excess borrowing caused a lot of today's financial problems.''
Most retailers got out of layaway in the 1990s and post-2000 as credit cards became ubiquitous and the programs became too expensive for retailers to administer.
Wal-Mart was one of the last holdouts. The world's largest retailer eliminated the program in 2006 and has no plans to get back in the business this year.
''We feel the best way for Wal-Mart to help customers is to keep prices as low as we can,'' said Anna Taylor, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman. ``Traditional layaway programs can be expensive and the costs get factored back into the cost of products.''
But some Marshalls and T.J. Maxx stores still offer layaway, as does Burlington Coat Factory. For many retailers, it's a case of looking for any strategy to drive business during what is expected to be the worst holiday season in years.
Layaway use is up about one-third over last year's volume at the Burlington Coat Factory at the Dolphin Mall in Doral, said Carlos Cardona, the store's assistant general manager.
''We're seeing an increase this year because of the economy,'' said Cardona, who is using the program himself. ``People don't have money.''
The 21st century version of layaway has gone online at eLayaway.com. The website by a Tallahassee company offers online layaway services for about 1,200 retailers, including Gap, Apple and Bass Pro Shops.
Registered users have exploded from 10,000 at the beginning of the year to more than 75,000 now, said Michael Bilello, eLayaway.com's vice president of business development.
''There is an entire population of Americans that has always used layaway,'' Bilello said. ``The only reason they stopped is because retailers stopped offering it. This is going to continue to grow as Americans look for tools to remain debt-free and fiscally responsible.''
That was what attracted Fred Johansen to test out eLayaway.com. Johansen is already trying to pay off balances on three credit cards and doesn't want to add to the debt.
He recently finished paying for a Mac computer on eLayaway.com and has now started making payments on some golf clubs for a Christmas gift for his dad.
''I'm trying to preserve and build my credit because I know I'm going to need that to buy a house in a couple of years,'' said Johansen, a 28-year-old graduate student who lives in Hollywood. ``This is a way for me to get more disciplined with my budgeting of my money.''
Layaway allows shoppers to spread payments over 30 to 60 days, without racking up interest, as on a credit card. Most layaway programs typically charge a service fee in the neighborhood of $5, or 1.9 percent in the case of eLayaway.com. If customers decide not to go through with the purchase, they get most of their money back minus a cancellation fee.
To start a layaway, stores require a deposit, usually between 10 percent and 20 percent of the cost of the item. There's also some restrictions on what items can be bought on layaway. At Kmart, exclusions include alcohol, perishable items, plants, cell phones and computers.
''It's very convenient,'' said Sharon Barnett, 41, a Fort Lauderdale resident who already put about $100 worth of toys on layaway at Kmart for her daughter. ``You know exactly where you are on your spending. After the holidays, I don't have bills to pay off.''
Layaway makes a comeback this holiday season as consumers look at ways to try to stay within a budget in the current economic crisis. Retailers hope it helps boost business.
BY ELAINE WALKER
The Miami herald – Published November 15TH, 2008
.
Olga Valeriano has found an old solution to her new budget crunch this holiday season: shopping on layaway.
The concept that went out of style with the rise of credit cards in the 1990s is making a resurgence this holiday season among shoppers like Valeriano.
At Kmart, she can put 10 percent down and spread out biweekly payments over eight weeks. At the end, she'll have the Guitar Hero and other toys her two sons want in time for Christmas. It's a big help for the stay-at-home mom whose husband's income has suffered with the falloff in construction work.
''This will give us time to get the money together,'' said Valeriano, 44, who was checking out items for layaway this week at a Hollywood Kmart.
Kmart hopes layaway will help lure new customers this holiday season, which is one reason the retailer is aggressively touting the program in national television commercials. And sister company Sears announced plans this week to revive its layaway program after an almost 20-year hiatus. Starting this weekend, Sears shoppers can use layaway at almost all departments, except home appliances and home electronics.
''Consumers told us all of a sudden layaway is relevant to them,'' said Tom Aiello, spokesman for Sears Holdings, parent firm of Kmart and Sears. ``People want to shop smart this holiday season. Layaway has become a real common sense way of staying within a budget and having a good holiday season.''
Layaway first became popular during the Great Depression. But after several decades of consumers used to whipping out the plastic and getting instant gratification, some experts believe the return to more frugal values is a much-needed change.
''It's harder for consumers to get credit and a lot of consumers are already buried in debt,'' said Tony Gao, marketing professor at Northeastern University in Boston. ``Layaway plans are all about delaying gratification. I think that's good for consumers because excess borrowing caused a lot of today's financial problems.''
Most retailers got out of layaway in the 1990s and post-2000 as credit cards became ubiquitous and the programs became too expensive for retailers to administer.
Wal-Mart was one of the last holdouts. The world's largest retailer eliminated the program in 2006 and has no plans to get back in the business this year.
''We feel the best way for Wal-Mart to help customers is to keep prices as low as we can,'' said Anna Taylor, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman. ``Traditional layaway programs can be expensive and the costs get factored back into the cost of products.''
But some Marshalls and T.J. Maxx stores still offer layaway, as does Burlington Coat Factory. For many retailers, it's a case of looking for any strategy to drive business during what is expected to be the worst holiday season in years.
Layaway use is up about one-third over last year's volume at the Burlington Coat Factory at the Dolphin Mall in Doral, said Carlos Cardona, the store's assistant general manager.
''We're seeing an increase this year because of the economy,'' said Cardona, who is using the program himself. ``People don't have money.''
The 21st century version of layaway has gone online at eLayaway.com. The website by a Tallahassee company offers online layaway services for about 1,200 retailers, including Gap, Apple and Bass Pro Shops.
Registered users have exploded from 10,000 at the beginning of the year to more than 75,000 now, said Michael Bilello, eLayaway.com's vice president of business development.
''There is an entire population of Americans that has always used layaway,'' Bilello said. ``The only reason they stopped is because retailers stopped offering it. This is going to continue to grow as Americans look for tools to remain debt-free and fiscally responsible.''
That was what attracted Fred Johansen to test out eLayaway.com. Johansen is already trying to pay off balances on three credit cards and doesn't want to add to the debt.
He recently finished paying for a Mac computer on eLayaway.com and has now started making payments on some golf clubs for a Christmas gift for his dad.
''I'm trying to preserve and build my credit because I know I'm going to need that to buy a house in a couple of years,'' said Johansen, a 28-year-old graduate student who lives in Hollywood. ``This is a way for me to get more disciplined with my budgeting of my money.''
Layaway allows shoppers to spread payments over 30 to 60 days, without racking up interest, as on a credit card. Most layaway programs typically charge a service fee in the neighborhood of $5, or 1.9 percent in the case of eLayaway.com. If customers decide not to go through with the purchase, they get most of their money back minus a cancellation fee.
To start a layaway, stores require a deposit, usually between 10 percent and 20 percent of the cost of the item. There's also some restrictions on what items can be bought on layaway. At Kmart, exclusions include alcohol, perishable items, plants, cell phones and computers.
''It's very convenient,'' said Sharon Barnett, 41, a Fort Lauderdale resident who already put about $100 worth of toys on layaway at Kmart for her daughter. ``You know exactly where you are on your spending. After the holidays, I don't have bills to pay off.''
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Vocabulary
Vocabulary
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Layaway: noun [U] (AUSTRALIAN ENGLISH lay-by)a system of paying for goods in small amounts and receiving the goods after the full amount has been paid, or goods bought in this way
Shoppers: noun – same as buyers
Tightens: phrasal verb [M] to make something become tighter, firmer or less easy to move
Comeback: noun [C] a successful attempt to get power, importance or fame again after a period of having lost it
Within: preposition, adverb inside or not beyond an area or period of time (dentro de)
Boost: verb [T] to improve or increase something
went out of style: past form of to go out of style – sair de moda (easier explained in Portuguese)
biweekly: adjective, adverb happening or appearing every two weeks or twice a week
income: noun [C or U] money that is earned from doing work or received from investments
falloff: phrasal verb If the amount, rate, or quality of something falls off, it becomes smaller or lower
lure: verb [T] to persuade someone to go somewhere or do something by offering them something exciting
holiday season: In the Northern Hemisphere, the Christmas season or (winter) holiday season is a late-year season that surrounds the Chirstmas holiday as well as other holidays during the November/December timeframe. It is sometimes synonymous with the winter season. The precise definition of feasts and festival days that are encompassed by the Christmas/winter holiday season has become controversial over recent decades. Traditionally, the only holidays included in the "season" were Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day (U.K. and some other countries), and New Year's Day. In recent times, this definition has begun to expand to include Yule, Hanukkah and Thanksgiving.
retailer: noun [C] someone who sells products to the public
touting: from tout - PRAISE [T] to praise someone or something in order to make people think that they are important - [often passive] He is being touted as the next big star.
revive: verb EXIST AGAIN [T] to make something from the past exist again
hiatus: noun [no plural] FORMAL a short pause in which nothing happens or is said
appliances: noun [C] a piece of electrical equipment with a particular purpose in the home
spokesman: noun [C] plural spokesmen, spokeswomen a man/woman who is chosen to speak officially for a group or organization
common sense: noun [U] the natural ability to be practical and to make good decisions
whipping out: Present Continuous Tense of Whip Out - to proceed nimbly or quickly
buried: verb [T] bury yourself in sth to give all your attention to something
debt: noun AMOUNT [C] an amount of money that you owe someone
borrowing: verb Present Continuous form of to borrow - [I,T] to take money from a bank or financial organization and pay it back over a period of time
ubiquitous: adjective FORMAL seeming to be in all places
holdouts: noun AMERICAN a person who refuses to accept an agreement
tools: noun [C] a piece of equipment which you use with your hands to make or repair something (ferramentas)
pay off: phrasal verb [M] to pay back money that you owe
allows: verb [T] to make it possible for someone to do something, or to not prevent something from happening; permit
spread: verb [I or T] spread, spread to (cause to) cover, reach or have an effect on a wider or increasing area
racking up: phrasal verb [M] to increase something such as a rent or price, especially by an amount that is considered to be too much
interest: noun [U] money which is charged by a bank or other financial organization for borrowing money
fee: noun [C] an amount of money paid for a particular piece of work or for a particular right or service
go through: phrasal verb to use a lot of something
purchase: noun FORMAL [C] something that you buy
perishable: adjective describes food that decays quickly
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(Nota Pessoal: Durante os anos 80 e 90 onde vivi nos Estados Unidos usei este serviço em várias oportunidades e contrariamente ao citado neste artigo nunca me foi estipulado um depósito de 10% sobre o valor do produto – Este método de compras para quem ainda tem duvidas é muito simples... você chega em uma loja escolhe qualquer produto seja de vestuário ou elétrico / eletrônico, faz um depósito – o que você possa deixar naquele momento e a loja neste momento retira a mercadoria e guarda até que você termine de pagá-lo – a loja não cobra juros por isto e você precisa a cada duas semanas (que é quando a maioria das pessoas recebem seus salários) fazer um pequeno pagamento – também não é estipulado um percentual de quanto você precisa pagar.... Uma outra coisa que eu me lembro é que houve ocasiões que eu não voltei à loja depois de 2 semanas por estar viajando a trabalho e ao retornar não fui constrangido pelo fato de ter pulado um pagamento.... – Aqui está uma ótima dica para os comerciantes Brasileiros!!!!!)
Layaway: noun [U] (AUSTRALIAN ENGLISH lay-by)a system of paying for goods in small amounts and receiving the goods after the full amount has been paid, or goods bought in this way
Shoppers: noun – same as buyers
Tightens: phrasal verb [M] to make something become tighter, firmer or less easy to move
Comeback: noun [C] a successful attempt to get power, importance or fame again after a period of having lost it
Within: preposition, adverb inside or not beyond an area or period of time (dentro de)
Boost: verb [T] to improve or increase something
went out of style: past form of to go out of style – sair de moda (easier explained in Portuguese)
biweekly: adjective, adverb happening or appearing every two weeks or twice a week
income: noun [C or U] money that is earned from doing work or received from investments
falloff: phrasal verb If the amount, rate, or quality of something falls off, it becomes smaller or lower
lure: verb [T] to persuade someone to go somewhere or do something by offering them something exciting
holiday season: In the Northern Hemisphere, the Christmas season or (winter) holiday season is a late-year season that surrounds the Chirstmas holiday as well as other holidays during the November/December timeframe. It is sometimes synonymous with the winter season. The precise definition of feasts and festival days that are encompassed by the Christmas/winter holiday season has become controversial over recent decades. Traditionally, the only holidays included in the "season" were Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day (U.K. and some other countries), and New Year's Day. In recent times, this definition has begun to expand to include Yule, Hanukkah and Thanksgiving.
retailer: noun [C] someone who sells products to the public
touting: from tout - PRAISE [T] to praise someone or something in order to make people think that they are important - [often passive] He is being touted as the next big star.
revive: verb EXIST AGAIN [T] to make something from the past exist again
hiatus: noun [no plural] FORMAL a short pause in which nothing happens or is said
appliances: noun [C] a piece of electrical equipment with a particular purpose in the home
spokesman: noun [C] plural spokesmen, spokeswomen a man/woman who is chosen to speak officially for a group or organization
common sense: noun [U] the natural ability to be practical and to make good decisions
whipping out: Present Continuous Tense of Whip Out - to proceed nimbly or quickly
buried: verb [T] bury yourself in sth to give all your attention to something
debt: noun AMOUNT [C] an amount of money that you owe someone
borrowing: verb Present Continuous form of to borrow - [I,T] to take money from a bank or financial organization and pay it back over a period of time
ubiquitous: adjective FORMAL seeming to be in all places
holdouts: noun AMERICAN a person who refuses to accept an agreement
tools: noun [C] a piece of equipment which you use with your hands to make or repair something (ferramentas)
pay off: phrasal verb [M] to pay back money that you owe
allows: verb [T] to make it possible for someone to do something, or to not prevent something from happening; permit
spread: verb [I or T] spread, spread to (cause to) cover, reach or have an effect on a wider or increasing area
racking up: phrasal verb [M] to increase something such as a rent or price, especially by an amount that is considered to be too much
interest: noun [U] money which is charged by a bank or other financial organization for borrowing money
fee: noun [C] an amount of money paid for a particular piece of work or for a particular right or service
go through: phrasal verb to use a lot of something
purchase: noun FORMAL [C] something that you buy
perishable: adjective describes food that decays quickly
.
.
(Nota Pessoal: Durante os anos 80 e 90 onde vivi nos Estados Unidos usei este serviço em várias oportunidades e contrariamente ao citado neste artigo nunca me foi estipulado um depósito de 10% sobre o valor do produto – Este método de compras para quem ainda tem duvidas é muito simples... você chega em uma loja escolhe qualquer produto seja de vestuário ou elétrico / eletrônico, faz um depósito – o que você possa deixar naquele momento e a loja neste momento retira a mercadoria e guarda até que você termine de pagá-lo – a loja não cobra juros por isto e você precisa a cada duas semanas (que é quando a maioria das pessoas recebem seus salários) fazer um pequeno pagamento – também não é estipulado um percentual de quanto você precisa pagar.... Uma outra coisa que eu me lembro é que houve ocasiões que eu não voltei à loja depois de 2 semanas por estar viajando a trabalho e ao retornar não fui constrangido pelo fato de ter pulado um pagamento.... – Aqui está uma ótima dica para os comerciantes Brasileiros!!!!!)
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