The author is confused about credit terms that have existed for decades. "Layaway" is when the retailer puts the product aside (won't sell it to another custom

The author is confused about credit terms that have existed for decades. "Layaway" is when the retailer puts the product aside (won't sell it to another customer), holding it in the warehouse while the customer makes payments until the product has been paid for and is then delivered. It makes (some sort of) sense for a capital purchase like furniture: furnture sells slowly; the retailer has to buy stock so there is a selection for the customer to choose from, ad is an expensive purchase for the customer. It makes no sense for a sandwich (as the article says, `Putting a banh mi on layaway—this is the world that “buy now, pay later” programs have wrought.'). This is simply buying on ordinary credit.