Basis of Presentation - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended			6 Months Ended						3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended			12 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended		3 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2010	Jun. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2010	Dec. 31, 2010	Jun. 30, 2011 Employees Base Compensation	Jun. 30, 2011 Employees Incentive Pay Compensation	Jun. 30, 2011 Non Employee Directors Cash And Stock Director Fee	Jun. 30, 2011 Customer Relationships Year	Jun. 30, 2011 Non-compete Agreements	Jun. 30, 2011 Franchise Rights	Jun. 30, 2011 Restricted stock units	Jun. 30, 2011 Restricted stock units	Jun. 30, 2010 Restricted stock units	Jun. 30, 2011 Restricted stock awards	Feb. 28, 2011 Restricted stock awards	Feb. 28, 2010 Restricted stock awards	Jun. 30, 2011 Stock options	Jun. 30, 2010 Stock options	Jun. 30, 2011 Stock options	Jun. 30, 2010 Stock options	Jun. 30, 2011 Restricted stock units and restricted stock awards	Jun. 30, 2010 Restricted stock units and restricted stock awards	Jun. 30, 2011 Restricted stock units and restricted stock awards	Jun. 30, 2010 Restricted stock units and restricted stock awards	Sep. 30, 2010 Aarons Office Furniture Store	Jun. 30, 2010 Aarons Office Furniture Store
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Lease merchandise adjustments	$ 10,400,000	$ 13,500,000	$ 19,900,000	$ 23,100,000
Compensation expense related to unvested stock option grants	607,000	865,000	1,200,000	1,600,000
Compensation expense related to restricted stock unit ("RSUs") awards and restricted stock awards	751,000	361,000	1,200,000	815,000
Stock options granted				347,250
Options exercised	100,000	9,000	261,000	29,000
Aggregate number of shares of common stock that may be issued or transferred under the incentive stock awards plan	14,735,112		14,735,112
Deferred compensation expense charged to operations	90,000	44,000	191,000	115,000
Deferred compensation benefits paid	27,000		27,000
Acquired goodwill assets on business combination	874,000		874,000
Amortization expense	476,000	801,000	976,000	1,700,000
Aggregate purchase price of acquisitions	1,700,000		1,700,000
Acquired intangible assets on business combination									136,000	82,000	17,000
Estimated useful lives of intangibles									2
Restricted stock granted													225,000	300,000	6,000
Restricted stock awards vested																137,000	146,000
Percentage of deferred compensation arrangement						75.00%	100.00%	100.00%
Deferred compensation plan liability	5,500,000		5,500,000		3,500,000
Cash surrender value of company-owned life insurance ("COLI") contracts	5,300,000		5,300,000		3,500,000
Uncertain tax benefits that, if recognized, would affect the effective tax rate	1,200,000		1,200,000		1,200,000
Assets Held For Sale	11,756,000		11,756,000		11,849,000
Increase in weighted average shares outstanding assuming dilution												160,000	165,000					1,100,000	830,000	985,000	789,000
Anti-dilutive Securities excluded from the computation of earnings per share assuming dilution																			336,000	293,000	336,000	6,000	438,000	6,000	438,000
Number of stores closed																										4	8
Closed store reserves																											2,000,000
Disposal activities amount recorded in lease merchandise write-downs and other miscellaneous expenses																											4,700,000
Disposal activities amount recorded in operating expense																											$ 7,100,000