At Paragould shops, layaway lives on

PARAGOULD — Layaway was the golden standard of many stores before the days of store credit cards. But as the world became more focused on instant gratification, large retailers did away with layaway programs or changed terms drastically.

But that is not the case for several Paragould businesses where layaway is still alive and well. With the arrival of the Christmas shopping season, many residents may soon line up to take advantage.

At Arnold’s Jewelry in downtown Paragould, owner Tommy Arnold said he had never known a time without layaway in his store’s 76-year history.

“We’ve had it forever,” Arnold said. “It’s just a part of our business.”

Arnold said layaway accounted for between 5 to 10 percent of his business.

“Our [layaway] cards always have someone on there,” Arnold said.

He said a down payment was required to take part in the program at the store his parents founded in Rector in 1936.

“We normally ask for 10 or 15 percent down,” he said.

Arnold said items placed on layaway could be there for six months with no interest accrued, though he said the terms could be flexible.

“As long as they’re paying, we’re pretty liberal,” Arnold said. “If someone hasn’t paid in three or four months, we’ll call them. If they don’t want it, we’ll just put it back out.”

Loretta Cox, an employee of Arnold’s for 14 years, said she had noticed an uptick in the number of people using layaway.

“It’s more than when I first came to work here,” she said. “It’s more than there were just a few years ago. Not an extreme amount, but more.”

Arnold said the increase in layaways could be associated with the down economy that residents of Greene County and the rest of the nation had been experiencing. He said now that the election was over, he hoped the economy would stabilize for his customers.

“I think the finality is helpful, because it takes the question marks away,” Arnold said.

Bob Blankenship, owner of Brand Direct in Paragould Plaza Shopping Center, said his store has a 60-day layaway plan with 20 percent down, though he was flexible on terms, especially considering the economy.

“People buy more practical items when the economy is tight,” Blankenship said.

Practical goods placed in layaway were generally picked up quickly, he said.

“I can’t tell you the last time I had to call someone after 60 days,” he said.

One area where Brand Direct attempted to be more accommodating to its customers was by allowing a customer to store a layaway item at the facility even after paying it off.

“We will store it, like if they’re building a house,” Blankenship said. “We had one guy who we stored his TV for five years. And we have other stuff back there that has been there for years.”

Running the layaway program, which accounted for between 3 and 5 percent of Brand Direct’s sales, did not add any overhead to the business, said Blankenship.

“We kind of allocated that space for it and we keep it separate from our other inventory,” he said.

Stephanie Mobley, co-owner of The Treasure House in Paragould Plaza, said she was starting to run out of room for items put away for Christmas layaway.

“We’ve actually had trouble finding enough room in the back for it,” Mobley said.

She said shoppers at her store generally took advantage of layaway during the Christmas season, especially since the economy had taken a downturn.

“Even all of our employees take advantage of it,” she said.

Mobley said while layaway only accounted for between 2 and 5 percent of her business, she would never do away with it like many large retailers.

“I think it will always be a part of the business,” she said, adding that customers come to her store for the layaway program.

But Blankenship said layaway would likely become less of his business with the advent of in-store credit cards that he said accounted for about 80 percent of his business.

“In this day and time, when everybody has a credit card in their pocket, it’s easier to buy now and pay for it later, but of course with interest,” Blankenship said. “We didn’t see it five years ago, but now it’s a credit-driven world, from the consumer to the government.”