3 Ways CITY Furniture Converts Walkaways into Revenue Growth

09/11/2025

Walkaways drain revenue when consumers like what they see but can’t buy. They don’t leave because they changed their mind; they leave because of credit or financing barriers. 

CITY Furniture introduced Acima’s lease-to-own (LTO) option, which gave consumers another way to pay and converted more carts into orders. A 2025 case study of CITY Furniture’s experience points to three practical steps retailers can apply. 

  • Access – Expand access options with simple LTO requirements 
  • Revenue – Capture walkaway sales and increase average order value (AOV) 
  • Efficiency – Enhance checkout with app and eCommerce integrations 

1. Offer an LTO Path for Consumers Who Are Left Behind by Credit 

Credit can leave out consumers with thin files, imperfect scores or those who want to avoid new debt [1]. At CITY Furniture, some consumers left without making a purchase, even when they wanted to. LTO lowered that barrier with simple requirements: proof of income, a checking account and a government-issued ID. Once approved, their consumers now had a way to lease-to-own furniture with CITY Furniture.  

For CITY Furniture, LTO was expanding its reach. LTO wasn't replacing credit or financing offerings. It was an added checkout method, allowing more consumers to access what they need. 

2. Turn Walkaways Into Revenue You Can Track 

Every lost sale costs money. The Home Furnishings Association reports that 60% to 80% of furniture consumers and 30% to 50% of mattress consumers leave without making a purchase [2]. At CITY Furniture, adding Acima brought in sales from consumers who would have walked away due to a lack of credit or financing.  

“Many customers had limited financing and could not buy,” said Joseph Moransais, Senior Manager of Retail Enablement at CITY Furniture. “With Acima, they could take home what they wanted, and we saw AOV rise.” 

This was incremental revenue from consumers already in the store. To reach them, Acima gave CITY Furniture a solution that better met these consumers’ needs. The integration also provided CITY Furniture with merchant portal tools that offered real-time visibility into its LTO transactions, from approvals to order values, helping staff understand and optimize the overall performance. 

3. Streamline the Digital Experience to Keep the Sale 

Acima’s app simplifies the LTO application and online checkout. This makes it easy for consumers to move from browsing to buying quickly. 

“The smoother digital experience helped us capture more sales and make customers happy,” Moransais said. 

The new checkout option was not only supported by the Acima app but also by Acima's eCommerce integrations, aligning with CITY Furniture's systems. 

Moransais confirmed, “We will keep improving our processes and our tech so we raise access for customers who otherwise would not buy.” 

Integrating Acima's LTO solution into an online store is straightforward. The pre-built plugins integrate with platforms such as BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Shopify, Magento, and ChargeAfter. The REST API is designed for predictable, low-error performance, and a sandbox enables teams to test before launch. This shortens implementation timelines, reduces checkout disruptions, and keeps the path from cart to purchase running smoothly. 

Keep More Sales Without Reinventing Your Business 

CITY Furniture’s story shows that you don’t have to start your business model from scratch to reduce walkaways. Acima can help to meet consumers where they are financially, without complicating the process. 

Even a small share of saved walkaways can add steady revenue in a competitive market. A low-friction checkout option like LTO does more than improve the shopping experience; it helps keep sales moving. See how LTO would perform in your checkout. Start today at acima.com/partner-application. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

How large is the market for lease-to-own furniture? 

It’s bigger than most expect. LTO with Acima serves millions of consumers who can’t easily access credit or financing, including those with thin credit files or non-prime scores. Nineteen percent of American adults, or about 49 million consumers, do not have a conventional credit score. That includes 28 million who are credit invisible with no mainstream credit file, and another 21 million who are unscorable because their file contains too little information. For retailers looking to offer lease-to-own furniture, that’s a sizable segment of consumers who may be ready to shop if given an alternative option at checkout. [3] 

What are the other benefits for retailers when working with Acima? 

Partnership with Acima extends a retailer’s reach and supports sales growth in several ways: 

  • Drive discovery – Placement in Acima’s retailer locator connects the business with ready-to-shop consumers searching for LTO options 
  • Strengthen promotion – The merchant portal provides marketing tools that help retailers showcase the LTO solution to their customer base 
  • Re-engage prospects – Acima’s remarketing emails reach consumers who have already applied for a lease, helping bring them back to complete a purchase 

The content of this article is provided solely for general interest and should not be relied upon or construed as any form of advice, whether legal, financial, or otherwise. Receipt or use of this information does not create any sort of relationship between us. 

Sources:   

  1. Acima. Inclusive shopping options white paper 
  2. Home Furnishings Association (HFA). The high cost of failed customer connections 
  3. Experian. The case for financial inclusion