Prioritize Affirm's Next Point-of-Sale Lending Vertical: Home, Elective Health or Auto

Affirm, which offers consumers installment loans at the point of sale, is deciding where to take its lending product next. The three candidates are home improvement, elective health products, and automotive. Rank the three in the order you would pursue them and explain your reasoning. ```hint Compare against today's loan Before ranking, agree on what the expansion is for. Then compare each vertical with the loans Affirm already makes: typical purchase size, whether there is collateral, where and how the purchase happens, and who the merchant partner would be. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - What does each vertical cover: does automotive mean financing vehicle purchases or also repairs, parts and tires; does elective health mean cosmetic, dental, vision or fertility care; and is home improvement goods bought from retailers or contractor-led projects? - What should the expansion achieve: loan volume, profitable growth, new customers, or more use by existing Affirm customers? - Is the ranking a launch order over the next few years, or a choice of the single vertical to fund now? - Is Affirm willing to take on larger or secured loans, or should the new product stay close to its current risk profile? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A stated goal and explicit ranking criteria chosen before any vertical is discussed - A sharp definition of each vertical: typical ticket size, collateral, purchase journey, merchant partners and incumbent financing - A comparison on fit with Affirm's model, market attractiveness, competition, distribution, and credit, fraud and regulatory risk - A clear stack rank with the reasoning for each position and the conditions that would change it - A first step for the top choice, with success metrics and guardrails ### Follow-up Questions - Your top choice already has an entrenched financing provider that offers deferred-interest promotions. How do you win merchants and borrowers? - If leadership wants the most loan volume within twelve months, does your ranking change? - What signal from a pilot would make you stop and move to your second choice?