Sears Holdings Corp. is launching a program called Sears Buyer Protection. Consumers have to spend at least $399 between July 6th and August 1st on a Citibank-issued Sears card to be able to participate in the program. They also have to have be employed at a full-time job for at least 60 days after the appliance purchase. If a qualified participating consumer loses their job then Sears promises to credit them for 1/12th of the purchase each month. Here's how Sears describes the new plan.
If a customer purchases a major home appliance over $399 with a Citibank-issued Sears card and loses his/her full-time job after 60 days and up to 1 year from the date of the purchase, 1/12th of the purchase price will be credited to the account each month that the customer is unemployed. This credit covers the appliance and related accessories, extended warranties, maintenance agreements, protection and service agreements, delivery haul-away, installation and sales tax. If the customer is still unemployed one year after the purchase, they will receive a credit to their account for the remaining purchase amount. The customer keeps the appliance and will owe nothing on that purchase. The customer can make their purchase at a Sears store+ or at sears.com
Sears told Bloomberg the plan is a way to get reluctant folks to make an appliance purchase.
"We thought this would be a way to get folks to jump in where they'd been a little reluctant," Doug Moore, president of Sears's home-appliance unit, said in a telephone interview.
The retailer, based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, is running the trial program to spur spending on refrigerators and washing machines as consumers hold off on bigger purchases amid declining home values and mounting job losses
This should help boost appliance sales for Sears. Consumers may be less reluctant to buy a new appliance if they think Sears will help them should they become unemployed. In a press release, Sears said they set up a website with information at SearsBuyerProtection.com. The website was not loading at the time of this writing but the plan does not begin until July 6th.
Sears Holdings Corp. is launching a program called Sears Buyer Protection. Consumers have to spend at least $399 between July 6th and August 1st on a Citibank-issued Sears card to be able to participate in the program. They also have to have be employed at a full-time job for at least 60 days after the appliance purchase. If a qualified participating consumer loses their job then Sears promises to credit them for 1/12th of the purchase each month. Here's how Sears describes the new plan.
