USA Pawn Shop in El Paso Sees Rise in Pawn Shop Balances
Usa pawn shop offers jewelry, high-end electronics, musical instruments, tools and more at a fraction of retail prices. They also provide a three day no questions asked return policy and a 90 day optional extended warranty plan for many products. The company is a division of EZCORP Inc, which has over 1,200 locations.
President Joe Biden and other economic advisers argue that the economy is on the rebound, pointing to signs such as a declining unemployment rate, easing inflation, higher stock market returns and rising wages. But the rosy economic picture hasn’t reached the lowest-income Americans, who live paycheck to paycheck. Those people, who often don’t have access to a credit card or bank account, have turned to pawnshops like Clay Baron’s shop in El Paso for money.
USA Pawn Shop: Your Guide to National Locations
In the past year, Baron’s pawnshop has seen a steady increase in customers seeking short-term loans, or pawn balances. That trend tracks national figures from two of the largest publicly traded pawnshop corporations, FirstCash Holdings and EZCORP Inc. Both companies reported record pawn balances and higher demand for short-term cash loans in their latest earnings reports.
For Baron and the staff at USA Pawn, the rise in pawnshop balances is a sign that the economic recovery has yet to reach all Americans, particularly those on fixed incomes. They are hoping to keep growing with a new store in Jackson this week, and by offering customers a better shopping experience that includes online reviews, loyalty programs and optimized marketing.