Installment buying is the purchasing of a good or commodity over a period of time. The purchaser of the item receives the item immediately, while paying in small payments, or ''installments'' 

Economic historians calculate that while in 1920, few middle class consumers used credit to buy goods, by the end of the decade, American consumers bought

60 to 75 percent of cars,

80 to 90 percent of furniture,

75 percent of washing machines,

65 percent of vacuum cleaners,

18 to 25 percent of jewelry,

75 percent of radios, and

80 percent of phonographs on the installment plan.

Impact of Installment buying- The increase in installment buying – we saw the birth of Advertising and the desire to create a demand for products that weren’t well known (cigarettes, bathroom fixtures, central heating, deodorant)