“We’re the only ones left that do it,” said Joe Packett, store manager at the Killeen Kmart.
What could be better?
Target and Kohl’s don’t have it, and older retailers like JC Penney and Macy’s haven’t seen a layaway department in their stores in years. The Temple Sears store does not offer layaway, but the Sears store in Killeen has layaway on all items except electronics and appliances.
And while the economy may be bringing fewer shoppers to the malls this holiday season, big retailers will probably not be resurrecting their layaway programs any time soon as a way of boosting sales.
“Our focus now is helping our customers save money by keeping our prices as low as they can go,” said Anna Taylor, spokeswoman for the Wal-Mart Corporation in Bentonville, Ark.
Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest retailer, ceased its layaway program in 2006, and while there may not be any plans to re-start the program, there is always that possibility, Taylor said.
“I wouldn’t want to speculate on what could happen in the future,” she said.
While most retailers are saying no to layaway, Kmart stores have flooded the airwaves with layaway ads.
In a national campaign launched earlier this month, the ads proclaim “beat the rush and pay the easy way with Kmart layaway.”
Packett can boast of a substantial customer base, and it has a lot to do with the company’s layaway plan.
“We have people from Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, lots of places out in the country, that call us and come all the way in to do layaways,” Packett said. “People come in early when the selections are better, and put in layaway.”
While customers agree that it is less expensive to use layaway, it also gives them a place to hide those gifts during Christmas time, Packett said.
On Monday, a line of shopping carts stretched from the end of the layaway department, and behind the counter Ericka Hostetter quickly bagged layaway merchandise that will eventually end up under the Christmas tree in Tambra Donald’s home in Troy.
“You don’t have to pay for it all at once,” Ms. Donald said. “It’s easier.”
Cathy Teegardin is from Killeen and, like Ms. Donald, agreed that using layaway is just more convenient.
Kmart has an eight-week layaway program that allows shoppers to place their items on hold at the store, and pay for them during that time.
Sandra Montgomery, who drove from Hewitt to put some gifts on layaway for her granddaughter, said she enjoys using the layaway service to help save money.
“I have not used it in a couple of years,” she said. “But I came all the way here just to use the layaway. I drove 45 miles.”
