Walmart won’t offer layaway option this holiday season
Walmart customers won’t have a layaway option this holiday season.
After experimenting with dropping seasonal layaway in select stores last year, the retail giant said it’s doing away with layaway in all of its stores this year.
"We've learned a lot in the past year as our customers’ needs and shopping habits have changed," a Walmart spokesperson said of the change. "Last holiday season, we removed seasonal layaway from most of our stores with the exception of select jewelry items at select stores, and based on what we learned, we are confident that our payment options provide the right solutions for our customers."
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Layaway allows customers to pay a small deposit to place an item on hold. After making enough interest-free payments to pay off the item, the customer can retrieve their product.
Layaway may no longer be available, but Walmart is moving into a buy-now, pay-later space by partnering with Affirm, a financial lender of installment loans.
![In this photo illustration, a Walmart logo seen displayed on](https://images.foxtv.com/static.fox5ny.com/www.fox5ny.com/content/uploads/2021/09/932/524/GettyImages-1235010759.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
In this photo illustration, a Walmart logo seen displayed on a smartphone along with a shopping cart. (Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Affirm does not charge any late fees, prepayment fees, annual fees, hidden fees or service fees to open or close accounts. It does, however, offer 10% to 30% APR on products like electronics, video games, toys, home, arts & crafts, musical instruments, home improvement, auto, sports & outdoors, tools, baby, jewelry and apparel.
Loan repayment options range between three months to a year for purchases between $144 to $799.99 and 1 to 2 years for purchases between $800 to $2,000.
Other financial platforms, such as PayPal and Afterpay, offer installment payment options for customers.
This story was reported from Atlanta.