Walmart Layaway: How to Avail Buy Now Pay Later Program

Walmart is a favorite one-stop destination for buying various goods and services. The range of services includes Walmart Check Cashing, Pharmacy, Auto Care Services, and many more. 

One such well-known service is the Walmarts Layaway Program. This program allowed customers to pay for the item in installments and take possession once it was fully paid. This helped customers to purchase those products that they couldn’t afford and also helped stores to boost their sales.

So, does Walmart still have layaway? No, it is not available right now, but we do have a new alternative to the Walmart Layaway program. 

This article will comprehensively cover all the things you should know about Walmart Layaway and its new alternative that people should be aware of.

Walmart Layaway: Synopsis

Walmart Layaway was a budget-friendly program for shoppers that allowed them to purchase the product by paying them later. This was the best payment option for those low-income families who wanted to buy gifts for the holiday season. 

In this program, people would select the items that they wanted by mid-August and list them under the Walmarts Online Layaway. They only get possession of those goods when they fully pay for them by mid-December during the holiday season with Walmart money card or other payment method. Many shoppers took advantage of this program. However, due to its ease of repayment, this was the most popular payment option among lower-income groups.

Does Walmart Still Have Layaway?

No, Walmart doesn’t offer this program to its customers anymore. This program was shut down in 2020 Christmas. The reason behind this was a major drawback of the Layaway program: people could only take possession of items when they had fully paid for them.

This idea wasn’t successful, as nobody wanted to wait for the possession and also due to the availability of better payment methods such as credit cards, which were more comfortable for customers. Gradually, it made Layaway a less popular option among shoppers.

The decision to remove Layaway at Walmart was due to the customer’s preference. Also, discontinuing this program helped Walmart make more space in its inventory and clear more stocks. Later on the new alternative for Walmart Layaway, Affirm was introduced, which became the new way of buying now and paying later. Affirm solved the issue of possession of goods and immediately replaced Walmart Layaway online.

Also Read:  FintechZoom Tesla Stock: A Comprehensive Guide to Analyzing Tesla Stock

How Does Affirm Work?

Affirm is a more suitable option for customers as it meets their needs. This service is just like using a credit card, and customers can choose the payment schedule over a 3 to 24-month period.

Customers who bought items using Affirm can easily return the product and receive their refunds, but they won’t be paid back for the interest they paid. 

This service requires some pre-qualification status and can only be used on products ranging from $144 to $2,000. Items such as Groceries, Alcohol, Weapons, and Pet Care, are excluded. Eligible items include:

• Electronics & Office
• Home
• Apparel
• Jewelry
• Automotive car care
• Sporting goods
• Lawn & Garden
• Toys

The best part about this method is that customers would not be required to pay any fees, but they had to pay APR, which could range anywhere between 10% to 30%. 

Affirm (Buy Now, Pay Later) vs Walmart Layaway

We have listed all the differences between Walmart Layaway Online and Affirm below so that you can easily understand them.

Affirm	Walmarts Layaway Program
Shoppers can take immediate possession	Shoppers were unable to take possession until they had paid in full.
10-30% APR	No interest is charged
Payment schedule over 3-24 months	From August to December
The minimum order should be $144 and the maximum is $2000	Minimum $50

How to Use Affirm on Walmart?

Using Affirm as the new alternative to Layaway is simple and requires only a few steps.

• Step 1. Shop on Walmart online and when you check out Select the Affirm payment method.

  

• Step 2. Select the payment plan that suits you.

  

• Step 3. Download the Affirm app and pay your scheduled payments on time.

You won’t be charged fees for late payments, but you should contact Affirm to let them know if you’ll be missing any payments. 

If you continue to miss payments or not pay them off, then there is a high chance of your negative build-up credit score, which would also affect the likelihood of using Affirm for future purchases.

5 Companies That Offer Layaway Programs

Apart from Walmart Layaway, several other organizations offer Layaway. Some of those organizations are:

Amazon Layaway Program allows customers to buy eligible items for a 20% down payment with no fees. Customers can schedule their payment up to 5 installments over eight weeks.

Target doesn’t specifically have a Layaway program but rather buy now pay later which is through Affirm. The entire structure is just like Walmart’s Affirm, and it doesn’t charge any fees or down payment.

Technically, Best Buy doesn’t have a Layaway system, but rather a similar concept known as a lease-to-own system. You are required to sign up for a Best Buy credit card and schedule your payment for up to 9 months.

Kmart’s Layaway program multiple options for their customers. There is an option for an 8-week program for online purchases and a 12-week program for store purchases. You are required to pay $10 as a down payment and service fees for the 8-week program are $5 and for the 12-week program is $10.

Sears Layaway is still available online, and its program is similar to Kmart’s Layaway program. Sears Layaway also requires you to pay the service fee, which is $5 for 8 weeks and $10 for 12 weeks.

So, these are some of the popular brands that are currently running their layaway programs or a similar ‘Buy now, pay later’ scheme.

Conclusion

Walmart Layaway program and Affirm program are almost similar, as they both serve the purpose of providing easy financing options to shoppers. Although the Walmart Online Layaway Program has been suspended and is no longer in service, you can still visit the offline store and ask about it. 

Every Walmart store has some kind of flexibility in terms of the services they provide. So it is advisable to visit the store and learn about the Layaway program and its conditions.

Read Next: Crypto30x News and List of Cryptocurrencies to Buy in 2024

FAQs

Sources