Kmart to Launch Online Layaway
October 5, 2009 by Stephen Kersey
Filed under Business
In these difficult economic times, layaway makes a lot of sense for many consumers. On October 9th, Kmart will be launching online layaway. For those looking to begin their holiday gift list now, this layaway option is especially helpful.
Said Mark Snyder, Kmart’s chief marketing officer: “We have an entire generation of customers that grew up shopping online. Launching online layaway at Kmart engages these customers by allowing them to spread their payments out over time and better plan their spending.”
The Kmart online layaway program has a number of features including a layaway calculator, a layaway manager, email reminders and an availability grid.
The rules for Kmart online layaway are relatively basic. It costs about $5 to begin a layaway contract and the down payment needs to be 10%. Additionally, consumers have two months to pay and will need to pick up their layaway items at a local Kmart store.
Kmart (Image: Flickr)
I had a round with the other Big Store, namely Wal-mart about this very issue. layaway. Well they basically told me to “forget about it” and thumbed their nose at me. I have probably spent thousands of dollars at Wal-mart and felt I deserved a little better treatment Well, obviously they didn’t agree. So let me ask you. Do you want to spend hrs. in line at their store running up your credit cards, wading thru picked over merchandise, being exposed to the H1N1 flu virus, chapping your hands with alcohol based hand sanitizer and looking at the faces of their tired, worn out, disgruntled and overworked associates? Well that’s not my idea of a good time Christmas shopping. This year i have already started my Christmas shopping at Kmart. Now i plan to go to their online site and shop from the comfort of my home. I admit i was blazing mad but now i’m getting more and more happy about the whole thing. Thank you Kmart. I hope you have a very fruitful Christmas season.