Interest in layaway rising for holiday shoppers

Retailers are hoping new life for an old idea will drive up sales this holiday shopping season.

At the Kmart in Iowa City, people are flocking to layaway. Store managers say they're seeing around 30 new layaway customers each day.

For some, layaway is the only way they can make Christmas possible in the midst of a recession.

Jeff and Jill Moore said they're already taking advantage of the program to make sure Santa fulfills the wish list of their five children.

"It makes things a lot easier when you don't have a lot of extra cash just trying to get the ball rolling for your Christmas," said Jeff Moore.

At the Kmart in Iowa City, one of the more popular checkouts right now is the layaway register.

"We added a register to our layaway, which we've never had to do so far, and sometimes both lines are backed up," said assistant manager Nancy Forrest.

Forrest said this holiday season could be one of the busiest for the layaway program.

Layaway itself is nothing new, having originated during the Great Depression. It allows customers to make installment payments on items they intend to purchase. The customer does not receive the item until it's completely paid for, but while there are sometimes fees associated with layaway purchases, there are typically no interest charges.

A few words of caution from consumer experts:

• Make sure you know how long you have to pay off the bill.
• Get the layaway policy in writing.
• And don't use the draw of layaway to spend more than you can afford.

-- Alyson Hunt, KCRG-TV9