Retailers are expecting (hoping?) for a better 2012 holiday season after a slow several years. They are planning for post-recession shopping behavior.

According to Alec Foege, writing for JWT Intelligence: “Back in 2009, Kmart and Sears revived the old Christmas layaway concept, first popularized during the Great Depression, as we noted at the time,  Toys ‘R’ Us and Best Buy followed suit with their own iterations. But even as the recession has subsided, the layaway concept has endured (getting a PR boost last December when “layaway angels” began paying off random balances at Kmarts and Wal-Marts around the U.S.). With many Americans still struggling and reluctant to pile more debt onto credit cards, merchants are filling in the gap to get the sale, with both brick-and-mortar and online retailers revving up their pay-over-time concepts for the upcoming holiday season.”

Click the Toys ‘R’ Us image to read more from JWT Intelligence about retailers’ 2012 plans.