Walmart Layaway Information
UPDATE:
On Sept. 8, 2011, Wal-Mart announced the return of layaway for the Christmas season. Starting Oct. 17, select toys and electronics can be placed on layaway. (Layaway won’t be allowed on “Black Friday,” the day after Thanksgiving.) Toys must be at least $15 each, and all layaways must total at least $50. There’s a nonrefundable $5 fee, plus another $10 if you cancel the layaway.
(earlier post continues below)
After years of offering layaway to its customers, Walmart did away with the program on Sept. 14, 2006. The reasons given were that not enough people were using it and it cost too much (in staff time and floor space) to offer it. Plus, a spokesperson told media at the time, most people just use credit cards.
Some customers got together a petition to bring back Walmart layaway, but it didn’t work. Walmart spokespeople have stated on numerous occasions that the company has no plan to bring back layaway. In many stores, the physical space once occupied by the Layaway Department is now home to the Site to Store feature, for online order delivery.
Even after Wal-Mart discontinued its layaway program, the retailer continued to offer layaway on jewelry only in some markets. Some consumers report that “their” Wal-Marts still allow jewelry layaway.
Spokespeople continue to insist that ending layaway has not hurt Walmart’s business, but Internet message boards show many complaints about its absence, and Kmart is making its layaway program a key part of its Christmas advertising push.
As of December 2010, there are 10 Facebook groups devoted to petitioning for Wal-Mart to bring back layaway. One has 132,000 members.
Who cares why anyone uses layaway? It’s their money to spend, and when and how they spend it is up to them. Some people may find it easier to shop for things outright, some people may like the convenience of shopping ahead of time and having a great hiding spot, some people may want to get their shopping done before the madness of the actual shopping season. It doesn’t matter who you are shopping for, what you do for a living, or whether you are educated. The bottom line is ~ Layaway can be a very convenient option for many reasons, and should be available to ALL customers who want to use it!
I just went to KMART and put over $1000 of items away on Layway. My christmas shopping is mostly DONE. I never shop at Kmart and honestly didn’t like it all, but since I was not buying electronicis, toys, or jewelry I could not go to my once favorite store Walmart and use layaway. While at Kmart putting away sweaters for grandma, clothes for mom, games for nephews, makeup and perfume for step kids, appliances for my son and his wife, etc. I decided that I don’t dislike Kmart as much as I used. I will probably shop at Kmart alot more now because they let me do all my shopping in one day and make payments on it so I don’t have to have all of those things taking up space in my home until a couple of weeks before christmas when I am ready to wrap them. I also think the payment plan is helpful. I could really care less what the stuck up crab commented on about budgeting money. She is obviously some old lady with too much time on her hands and nobody to buy Christmas gifts for so she has not problem just putting out $1000 in one day. I still have some items to buy and I will use Amazon or somewhere else for those items because this year I am BOYCOTTING WALMART, just because of their refusal to let me put everything and anything I want to on layaway. Sorry Walmart you lost a huge Walmart fan who used to spend at least $300 a week in just groceries at your store.
I hate that W- Mart has restrictions on how much an item has to cost for la a way and that I can’t put anything I want in….that is just one more reason I only go there once or twice a yaer
I ALWAYS use KMart Layaway. This year, I was so excited to learn Walmart opened their layaway plan until……their regimented rules were laid out at the top of this page.
I’m so sorry KMart, I fell off the wagon. I promise I will never do it again!
Just went shopping for two hours in store today to start my Christmas shopping. Went to Layaway to put it all in. Guess what nothing in your layaway under 15.00 ??
Took cart full of items back to the homes I got them from instead of leaving basket for associate to put away. Needless to say I only put two items in layaway from that cart. Very unsatisfied with this policy and you have to pay fee for layaway before they even start??
Guess what the rest of my shopping will not be in a Walmart
Guess where the rest of my shopping is going elsewhere.
Tis the season to you Walmart
Layaway back Not a good thing Walmart
I feel the same way. Who are the executives of the stores, and why do they care if layaway is used, its not hurting their business either, especially since so many people want it back. WalMart is one of the richest businesses in the US, so why is it such a hassle to get decent customer service. Some of us dont have perfect credit or perfect jobs, and dont have the ability to get unseen amts on credit cards, layaway is our best AND ONLY option, especially during holidays, and not just Christmas, all holidays. Credit Cards are great for those who have them, so layaway is good for us poor and middle class individuals that must not matter to the important people who make these decisions. Its nice to know what you have bought and make pmts without having its sitting around collecting dust before you can wrap it and dont have to save and dave to buy it only to see its gone back up in price or not available. Layaway has more good and positive feedback than it does bad, so for me its a no-brainer, bring back layaway for good!!!
i always used layaway and when walmart took it away it hurt alot i could no longer afford the thangs that i wanted and by the time i saved up the money it was no longer in stock and now with money and jobs being so scareis laway would help those who needs to put other things besides toys or electronics on layaway. please oh please bring it back i realy do belive that people now would and could benifit from it
Our tv went out and we were going to put one on layaway since wal-mart has a great deal on them right now. Well we cant I did’nt know layaway was just for the holidays. Bum so now what are we going to do??? Please bring layaway back.. My husband and I each work two jobs and have 2 children. We don’t have the money or a credit card to whip out that kind of money. I guess we will just wait until we get our tax check and go to Best buy or circuit city!!
I used lay a way and found out that I had got the wrong gift for my daughter so i went to get a refund of my money. The receipt clearly stated that if you return before the 14th of Dec. you would receive a full refund on an uncompleted lay a way. They wanted to charge me $10. for the cancellation.
When asked about the full refund I was told that an uncompleted order was when a customer adds or takes away from their lay a way. Does that make sense? This is the second time that I felt like I should not be shopping at Wal Mart. The service is all about a job not about customer relations. Every answer that comes out of the workers mouth is verbatium. They sound like robots.
who cares, about $15.00 nd why would you even put somthin in lay a way that cost that much or less. just stupid if yall tell me =/
I was and still am extremly pissed that walmart took away layaway. I have 5 kids and with the economy its extremely expensive to buy school clothes xmas present and just trying to keep up what they need through out the yr. I have been wanting to buy the intex 24′x52″ pool for yrs for my kids and my youngest how is disabled and LOVES water but cant afford it and laway would allow me to get that and so much more. If walmart brought back layaway I am sure I would be one of many americans spending hundreds more at walmart. BRING BACK LAYAWAY!!!!!
My kids get christmas & birthdays solely from layaways. I used walmart layaway for years over smarts layaway plan. I did not like being charges and told when and how much to pay by Kmart, however I am a Kmart layaway person now. I refused to buy anything from walmart. I use to grocery shop there weekly and every christmas from 2000 to 2005 I would have 2-3 huge layaways. They lost a loyal customer when layaway was closed. Not everyone has credit cards or wants the high debts, so this was not wise of walmart at all.
I was happy to hear about Walmart bringing layaway back. I was a bit unhappy that I couldn’t put clothes or anything under $15. This is how I get my kid’s clothes some years. I’ve been going to K-Mart & I will continue to use K-Mart.
Walmart. You guys are crazy for taking away the layaway away from dedicated customers. Ive been goin to kmart and I hadn’t been in kmart in years. Now I go right past walmart to go to kmart!!!!! People like me with not so much income need layaway. Crazy crazy crazy decision!!!!! Do not care about your customers. You’ve lost more of them than you think.
Not all people have money. I also use Kmart layaway, which gives me the opportunity to pay little until I can pay it off. I use Kmart Layaway for almost everything. I could say I probably have spend more than thousand on a their layaway, and I’m grateful that they have layaway. Making things easier for other people who are less fortunate. Thank you Kmart!
I was one of the Associates handling the Christmas Layaway Program for our store this year. I thought I’d give a little insider information to everyone else. The reason we only did Toys and Electronics and had a $15 dollar minimum was to reduce the amount of space we’d have to use in the back room. For our Walmart Store Layaway did very well, but at the same time was actually really inconvenient for our us. The space we normally used to keep a lot of our inventory had to be cleared out. Even with the restrictions we ran out of room to store layaways. Now although I said Layaway did really well, our total sales amounted to about the same amount we make on a single front end register in one business day. It took us 3 months to make 1 business day of profit. Also we had a lot of items to put back because people didn’t pick up there layaways.
I would like the program to stay myself, I loved working it and would like to use it, but I can understand why they got rid of it. For our store to start it up again and keep it all year round we’d need an entire addition to the store. It just doesn’t seem practical.
Wal-mart layaway was the way to go. When a person don’t have lots of money to pay out at one time, this can help. Credit cards are something that some people don’t have nowadays. I would really like to see this come back. I surely would use it. I have been wanting a flat screen tv for ever.
I really pray they would bring back layaway @ Wal-Mart permantely. It really would help a lot of individuals with children and financial hardships. Please keep it.
I like Walmart products better then Kmart. I shop at walmart my husband is now on social security there are things I want to buy but don’t have all the money right then. I wish there was a layaway again at walmart that is how we bought most or our nice things in our home. When the kids where small thats how we bought their Chrismas and our grandchildren to.
Thank You for Listening! !
I was very excited to hear about layaway at Walmart because I’m disabled and on a fixed income so the only way I can get anything new that is over my spending limit. There’s no way I can get things such as electronics and furniture without it. Shame you guys dropped it. I would have been buying one thing after the other. As it is, you lost another customer. I’ll go to Kmart instead.
Speaking as a single parent…..its hard….!!!!! I need the layaway program so I can provide the extra things for my household…..without robbing peter to pay paul….
please keep the lay-a-way department.i personally need it.i dont always have the cash.
please continue the lay-a-way department.thanks
I can”t afford a new tv and now are some great prices out there you need to bring back layaway i saw a 32 inch for $209. not a bad price on your website so plz bring it back thanks
did my layaway at walmart last year for christmas. but now that i see they are not going to bring back layaway i guess kmart will be getting my bussiness from now on. even for christmas in 2012. not counting what i am going to buy through the year. i like layaway and walmart does not seem to get that. they dont care about customers from my experiance i have seen. so good luck to them.
I would like to see walmart bring back lawaways all year .especially now with the ecomony. i always would layaway clothes and household item for birthdays , christmas all year long .. when you are on a fixed income it really helped alot of people out to clothed their families and to buy things we needed. Please bring walmart layaways back all year .
I USE TO SHOP @ WALMART A LOT, BUT NOW I DON’T EVEN BUY GROCERIES THERE. KMART HAS BEEN LOYAL WITH THEIR LAYWAY ALL YEAR. WALMART BRING BACK LAYWAY FOR THE HOLIDAY AND NOW EVERYBODY’S RUNNING TO WALMART. WHY EVEN SHOP THERE IF THEY ONLY WANT YOU CHRISTMAS MONEY AND TO MAKE KMART SALES GO DOWN. KMART IS ALWAYS THERE FOR US. MY FELLOW SISTERS AND BROTHERS PLEASE DON’T LOOSE FOCUS. DO NOT SPEND MONEY OR US THE 2 MONTH LAYAWAY NEXT YEAR @ WALMART. THEY CAN’T PICK AND CHOOSE WHEN I SHOULD SPEND MY MONEY IN THEIR STORES. IT’S MY MONEY AND I CHOOSE NOT TO SUPPORT WALMART STORES. ANY FOLLOWERS?
Layaway has been a godsend for people who wish to buy higher priced items and could not do so otherwise. Also, families with lots of kids or lower income families need to budget their needs. They don’t get the merchandise before completing payment….so what is Walmart’s problem? In this economy, a little bit of consideration would be appreciated. Thank you. Sandra
I like the layway, also! It helps you budge it for something that you can not afford to put out the cash all at once. It helps when you have a season item that you like and do not have the money right then. BRING BACK LAYWAY ALL YR LONG PLEASE WALMART! That’s why I like KMart, online HSN, and QVC get the product you want and make payments without using you credit cards low to no interest. SMARTEN UP WALMART!
I too am very disappointed in walmart. To be controlling on the rules for layaway is ridiculous. Sorry but with the economy the way it is & take away jobs is stupid. Many people would’ve loved to have a job in layaway. Sorry but with as much as walmart brings in between sams club walmart & murpheys they can afford to keep the layaway option. I honestly thought kmart would be closing down cause walmart gets the business. But walmart put kmart back in the game! I know for large shopping needs other then groceries I will use kmart. The last few years walmart has been very disappointing in many areas. Taking the layaway plan away was stupid & the icing on the cake for me. Then the rules put on the layaway just pissed me off.
I don’t get why it’s so hard for purple to understand layaway policies. 5 dollar service free and 10 dollar cancellation fee if you make any changes. Layaway isn’t meant for a 5 dollar item, it’s meant for multiple items of a larger amount or one expensive item. People should learn to read policies and receipts.