Most stores have eliminated layaway options for customers and encourage credit purchases. Should retailers encourage customers to rely heavily on credit?
In the United States, paying for purchases with a credit card is old news. That’s not so in much of Asia. The United States leads the world in credit cards per capita—2.01, which is much higher than many Asian countries, such as China with 0.15 cards per capita or India with 0.02. But that’s changing dramatically. Between 2004 and 2009, Asian card transactions grew 158 percent, approaching one-fourth of the global transaction volume. Asian governments are encouraging this growth because it stimulates the economy and brings in more tax revenue. Retailers embrace it because consumers spend more when using cards as compared to cash. This trend is not without critics, however, given the historical aversion to debt exhibited by Asians.