Maine shoppers who relied on Walmart’s layaway service will have to find a new way to finance their holiday purchases.

According to a company spokeswoman, layaway, typically offered from Aug. 28 to Dec. 14, will not be available at any Walmart locations in Maine.

Casey Staheli, senior manager of national media relations, said the lack of use is the reason for removing the layaway option statewide.

“Layaway has been a declining option for the past few years with our customers,” Staheli said. “Stores continuing layaway (in 2020) were selected based on usage of the program over the past few years.”

Layaway is a payment plan offered by businesses around the holidays that allow customers to pay off items that they want to purchase over a set period of time with no interest or due dates.

Steheli said Walmart offers two alternatives to layaway at Maine stores: the Walmart Rewards credit card, and the Affirm program, which allows customers to make online purchases and pay for them in fixed monthly payments over three, six or 12 months.


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