[Runamuck]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crazy Jetty

Toyaddict pretty much nailed it. Walmart stopped offering layaway, and so did everyone else.
This comes at a time when people *need* it more than ever. One of the biggest complaints I always heard from customers, as an employee, and just on the street is that they stopped offering layaway (The biggest uses for it was for Back to school, and christmas. Both are times when parents need to spend a *lot* of money at once)

So it's a very large niche that's been left completely untapped. Any company that capitalizes on it is now offering a big service Walmart refuses to. And that's why K-Mart has had a good deal of success with it.
But K-Mart isn't the powerhouse it used to be, and there's not much they can do that Walmart would even feel.
However, if target started offering it, it's possible we could see a powershift, if only briefly. If Target started offering layaway, Walmart would have no choice but to do so.
And the reports of Walmart losing a lot of money on it are wrong. it wasn't terribly profitable for them, but they weren't losing anything significant. Barily anyone used layaway outside of Back to school and christmas.

I agree with your post. Bring back Layaway! I know my folks used it a lot when I was a kid.