Wal-Mart Brings Back Layaway for Holidays

For the second year in a row, Wal-Mart Stores, the nation's largest retailer, will offer a layaway program for holiday purchases. Echoing Wal-Mart executives’ comments last week that American consumers are still worried about their finances, the company also said it would add an extra month to the program so shoppers have more time — and paychecks — to pay for their items on layaway. "Our customer was saying if they had two more paycheck cycles, that really would be helpful for them," said Duncan MacNaughton, chief merchandising and marketing officer for Wal-Mart U.S.