Amazon Brings Layaway Online in Bid to Boost Affordability

In eCommerce, it’s not just the convenience factor that will get consumers to click the buy button, especially into the all-important holiday shopping season — increasingly, there’s the affordability factor to consider too.

Layaway counts among Amazon’s latest iteration of payment options, a nod to the eCommerce giant’s penchant to take in-store commerce mainstays and give them the nudge into the digital age.

And by offering the option, there’s a positive benefit that accrues to the platform’s merchants, too, as they garner sales from consumers they might not have been otherwise able to reach.

For consumers grappling with paycheck-to-paycheck pressures, especially lower-income consumers, Amazon may offer a bit of lifeline towards more affordable holiday shopping, but more importantly, toward a more affordable path toward paying for life’s essentials.

As reported on Monday (Oct. 3), the  Amazon has launched Amazon Access, a resource hub to help shoppers, including those seeking information on Prime’s discounted membership program for qualifying government assistance recipients. The hub offers information on payment options such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) and Amazon Layaway.

Saving Money and Time

As reported, the eligible U.S. customers who sign up for Prime Access get all the benefits of a Prime membership at a monthly discount of more than 50%.

“We found that many of our customers are looking for ways to save money and time, now more than ever. We know that online shopping is a big part of how they save, and that’s why we’re introducing Amazon Access, a hub to make shopping easier for all customers,” Amazon said in its Monday announcement.

Consumers can use their SNAP EBT card in all states, except Alaska, and use their SNAP funds to order eligible groceries online from Amazon.com, Whole Foods Market, and Amazon Fresh with fast, free shipping on eligible Amazon orders, the company has said.

Amazon Layaway lets users browse thousands of items, pay 20% of the total cost, lock in the price, and pay the rest over time. The path toward finding more palatable options becomes a bit more streamlined, and convenient (as groceries and furniture and other essentials are delivered to one’s doorstep). That, in turn, helps save on gas, which has been singled out in recent PYMNTS research as being one of the most considerable expenses for the paycheck-to-paycheck economy, trailed by groceries.

The data show that 59% of paycheck-to-paycheck consumers with issues paying their monthly bills that noted significant rises in prices for utilities in the past 12 months, too, which means that any level of “breathing room” in paying for items, as facilitated through Amazon Access, can be a lifeline.

At the same time, the Access announcement also represents a direct shot across Walmart’s bow. The two commerce giants have been jockeying over groceries and other staples, looking to capture share of wallet as consumers, in general, pull back on retail spending. In the case of groceries, Amazon Access seeks to offer pathways to putting food on the table; in the case of Layaway, stretching purchases out over time may be a key inducement to helping consumers pinched by inflation to find some relief.