The Return of the Layaway
I'm convinced instant gratification is behind our economic downfall.
Allright, it's not the entire reason why, but I'm thinking it's got to play a significant role in the current credit crisis? Let me explain.
In the old days when you saw something you really liked but couldn't afford, you didn't just charge it and take that sucker home. You put it on layaway. Over a period of some weeks or months, you could make payments in installments -- which was a little easier than forking out all the dough all at once. This meant you couldn't take what you wanted home right away, but it was yours once you paid in full. It was a great concept that went the way of the dinosaur once credit started getting handed out like so much candy corn on Halloween.
I remember my sister used to put stuff on layaway at C-Mart (sniff, sniff) and pick it up once she made all her payments. It made things far more affordable, especially when you didn't have a lot of money.
Then easy credit made layaway plans obsolete. Why wait when you could take it home now? So stores started phasing out the ability to put merchandise on hold as you paid for it bit-by-bit. Wal-Mart discontinued its layaway option in 2006.
Fast forward a couple years to more turbulent times and guess what's making a slow comeback? Layaway plans! Web site creditcards.com says "Aside from a few large retail chains, including Kmart, Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse and select Marshalls and TJ Maxx stores, layaway remains difficult to find." Instead, the Web site said look for
layaway options in the 21st century, the best bet may be to turn on your computer. Currently, the service has a small online presence, with a handful of companies offering consumers the opportunity to make a series of incremental, interest-free payments over the Internet. "It's the same with grocery shopping -- if you can do it online and have it shipped to you, why not?" says Robert Holland, owner of the appropriately-named Web site Lay-away.com.
K-Mart has had a layaway option for 40-plus years now. Earlier this month, the discount chain launched a K-Mart 8-week layaway ad campaign for the holidays that might make it a little easier for consumers to check off items on their gift list and pay it all off in time to ease post-holiday debt worries. With the exception of about a dozen things that you can't put on layaway, the choices are fairly open (No personal computers and No, you can't put beer, wine and cigarettes on layaway. heheheh.)
It's not instant gratification, but it might be a more sensible way to shop. Perhaps we'll see more stores re-establishing layaway plans for credit-strapped customers? Would you use layaway? Or would you rather get your hot little hands on what you want asap?
Thanks to the CreditSlips blog for tuning us into this new, old trend.
(Getty Images)
Categories: Budgeting, Debt, Economy, Loans, Shopping
