Personal experience speaking: The top three questions a Target employee is likely to hear relate to the location of the restrooms, the location of the seasonal section (Christmas, Halloween, etc.), and – at least in Kentucky – whether or not the store sells cigarettes.  But new Hitwise data indicates that inquiries about layaway may become more popular.

True, Target doesn’t offer layaway (it doesn’t sell cigarettes, either), and Bill Tancer acknowledged, "The term ‘layaway’ seems so 1970′s."

 "Layaway" Searches Taking Off

"Yet if you look at search terms sending traffic to the Hitwise Shopping and Classifieds category, you’ll see this retro term resurfacing as consumers struggle to find ways of navigating purchases this holiday season," Tancer continued.

Google Insights for Search shows a similar spike, so the Hitwise data isn’t off.  There’s just a huge demand, and companies of all sizes might do well to meet it.  A couple of sites specializing in layaway – elayaway.com, lay-away.com, and also Kmart.com – are already seeing all sorts of traffic thanks to the search term.

Businesses and bloggers should think about other terms that the recession has made more popular, too.  Tancer observed, "Winners in this tighter market will be those that can adapt to these changes."