How Many Payments?

Every time we go to a store and buy anything over 100 sheckels (about $22), the salesperson asks us how many payments we'd like. After asking about it, it turns out you can choose to pay the purchase in one to five payments. Do people really do that? Who chooses five payments for a $22 item?

Plus, they always seem surprised when we just say one payment. We're going to have to explore this a bit more.