Recognizing a growing consumer need, Toys ‘R’Us has launched a new “pay in the store” option on its ToysRUs.com and BabiesRUs.com websites just in time for the holidays. This option allows customers without a credit card or wary of using credit cards online to shop on their websites and then opt to pay at a store.

The stipulation is that payment must be made within 48 hours of receiving the confirmation e-mail for the online order. Consumers must bring a copy of that e-mail to the store, or be able to display the e-mail on a mobile phone. The order is then processed and shipped.

Earlier this year retail giant Walmart announced it was offering customers the option to pay with cash for online purchases, becoming the first major retailer to offer such an option.

At Walmart stores, the majority of transactions are paid for in cash or cash equivalent, including debit cards, and approximately 15 percent of transactions are paid in the form of credit, so this option is a good fit for their customer base.

But could more retailers start to offer this option? According to the “2011 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households”, 1 in 12 households in the nation are unbanked. Also one in five households are underbanked, meaning they do not have a checking account.

Yet many of these households still have access to the internet. According to a study by Javelin Strategy and Research called “Engaging the Underbanked and Unbanked in the U.S” (2011), 81 percent of the unbanked and 63 percent of the underbanked have Internet access.

The pay at the store option is a natural fit for these households, and the numbers point to a higher possibility that more retailers could begin offering the same option in order to engage this customer base in a new way and drive more sales through the internet.