Sometimes people just don't have the money to pay for something right away. Thankfully the process of layaway has made paying for something easier as you can put something on reserve, pay for it in increments over time and pick it up when it's paid off.
Usually this process is helpful around holiday shopping time, but now Sears is taking it to another level. They're allowing shoppers to put vacations of layaway.
Last week, the department store Sears launched SearsVacations.com, a travel website in which customers can put trips like cruises to the Bahamas or golf outings in Hawaii on layaway. Sears is the first company to have a layaway program for vacations.
Through the layaway and flexible payment options, customers only have to put down 10 percent for a trip and then can pay off the rest of the trip at whatever rate customers want, as long as it is paid in full before the trip.
"[I]t's a natural fit for Sears. We have a layaway at Sears, the store, so our customers are used to more flexible payment options," said Shannelle Armstrong, the company's director of public relations as quoted by Fox 8 in Cleveland.
Travelers can use this option toward almost anything from family vacation to cruises, to hotel reservations, flight, and car rentals. The site also has many hot deals to choose from. The site also has no sign-up fee for the program, while Sears' in-store layaway program does charge a starting fee.
As a way to promote the site, Sears is selling 100 vacation packages starting at $399 until July 31.
Several companies have brought back layaway programs in response to the recession to help people with their money struggles in the tough economy. However layaways for vacations are a first.
However some companies offer similar delayed payment programs for vacations. Costco gives customers the option of paying off a trip later on. Several travel companies also give customers a choice of putting a down payment on a vacation and then making a final payment before the trip.
Certified financial planner Lauren Lyons Cole told Fox 8 that travelers might want to hesitate before putting a trip on layaway as there may be other more important things that come up like emergencies, where people would have to dip into their travel funds.
"I always encourage people to prioritize travel into their financial plan," Cole said. "That said, putting it on layaway is something I would never recommend."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
