Customer demand, poor economy bring back Walmart layaway

Amid an ever-worsening economy, Walmart has brought back its formerly popular layaway program, which was axed in 2005. Company officials say an increase in paycheck-to-paycheck purchases by its clientele has led the mega-retailer to fall back on the program as a way to entice customers to purchase big-ticket items that are seemingly out of reach.

According to an article in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal, Walmart is bringing back layaway just in time for Christmas, after its customers -- 20 percent of which don't have bank accounts -- wrote in to demand the return.

Walmart isn't alone. Retailers across the country are realizing that customers who "traded down" to generic store brands and less-extravagant lifestyles during the "Great Recession" may not be coming back, even as finances level off.

Other stores are using different tactics to keep customers. Target, which generally (pardon the pun) targets more affluent households than Walmart, has rolled out a special debit/credit card that allows a five percent discount on all purchases, which brings the store's prices in line with deeper-discount retailers.

As signs of an economic recovery take a turn for the worse, it remains to be seen how retailers will adjust their marketing strategies to hold on to customers that may not be able to afford their previously extravagant lifestyles.

WSJ Online: Frugal Frontier: Retailers Face Reality That Many People Can't Trade Back Up