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Article: Layaway spike shows strain for consumers ; Many reserving back-to-school items at stores
- Article from:
- The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)
- Article date:
- August 25, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 The Boston Globe. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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NEW YORK - To gauge consumers' strain, look no further than the
rows and rows of plastic bags awaiting layaway payments at Kmart.
They are filled with back-to-school basics - not just T-shirts and
jeans but notebooks, magic markers, and pencils.
It is unheard of for layaway rooms to be so packed at back-to-
school time and for the packages to include relatively cheap school
supplies.
A record number of shoppers, shut off from credit and short on
cash, are relying on Kmart's layaway program to pay for all of their
children's school needs, said Tom Aiello, a spokesman for Kmart's
parent Sears Holdings Corp. Layaway allows shoppers to pay over
time, interest-free, and pick up their ...