With many consumers remaining cautious with spending, retailers are turning to layaway programs again this holiday season to offer shoppers a payment plan to buy gifts. In 2008, layaway programs made a comeback as retailers hoped to encourage shoppers to spend during the recession. Searches for the term ‘layaway’ jumped as consumer awareness increased about the offerings. The layaway programs were effective to drive early purchases with the peaks for search term variations that included ‘layaway’ taking place last year during the 5 weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. Kmart.com and Sears.com both launched holiday pages featuring layaway payment options on their websites in July to start capturing spending.

The top twenty variations of ‘layaway’ for the 4 weeks ending August 15, 2009 include both Sears and Kmart in the search queries as well as Wal-Mart, TJ Maxx and Meijer. Other popular search queries are by consumers who are looking for which stores offer layaway – a good opportunity for retailers to reach potential shoppers. When comparing variations of search queries that include ‘layway’ for the last twelve weeks to the previous holiday season, we’re already seeing increased share for search terms like ‘layaway online’, ‘layaway electronics’ and ‘stores that do layaway’.