Poshmark is a leading social marketplace for new and secondhand style for women, men, kids, pets, home, and more. Poshmark prioritizes a best-in-class buying experience that is smooth and stress-free for their customers, making Affirm’s Adaptive Checkout — which delivers Pay in 4 and monthly payments in an integrated checkout flow — particularly appealing for their business. As one of the first merchants to adopt Affirm’s Adaptive Checkout, Poshmark offers more payment flexibility and choice to their customers which has led to increased conversion and a lift in overall Affirm captured sales.

Below, Poshmark’s Director of Payments Partnerships and Strategy, Adam Clarke, outlines why Adaptive Checkout was such an obvious choice and how their partnership with Affirm aligns with their overall business goals. 

The interview below has been edited for clarity and length. 

Affirm: What do you like most about working for Poshmark?

Poshmark [Adam]: One of Poshmark’s Core Values is “together we grow." This represents Poshmark's commitment to fostering a supportive and inclusive workplace where employees can learn, develop, and advance their careers. At Poshmark, growth is not just encouraged — it’s built into the company culture. The company recognizes everyone has unique strengths and weaknesses and provides opportunities for employees to grow professionally and personally through training, mentorship, and collaboration with colleagues. This ensures that everyone is empowered to bring their best selves to work and has the support they need to succeed and thrive. 

Affirm: Why did Poshmark first add Affirm?

Poshmark [Adam]:  Poshmark saw a chance to offer a fresh payment alternative to our community. The new installment option offered by Affirm aimed to allow buyers more flexibility when financing their purchases. This strategic move was not only a step towards enhancing user convenience, it was also an effective strategy to stimulate average order value and bolster buyer conversion rates. Our integration with Affirm underscored our commitment to continuous innovation, all while striving to deliver superior user experiences. We're always exploring ways to make transactions as smooth as possible for our customers, and this is a testament to that. By offering more versatile payment methods, we're helping our users shop more confidently, promoting increased purchasing power, and ultimately driving more conversions on the platform. 

Affirm: Why did you decide to offer Adaptive Checkout to your customers? Was there a challenge you were trying to solve?

Poshmark [Adam]: At Poshmark, we want to build a buying experience that allows every community member to engage in commerce with each other, especially when purchasing luxury goods and apparel. We want to ensure our users have a smooth, stress-free shopping experience. 

When Affirm approached us with Adaptive Checkout, we immediately saw a win for our mutual users. By unlocking Adaptive Checkout, we would expand the price points [Affirm was available for]. Previously, the floor limit was set at $200, which left many of our customers looking for flexible payment options eager to use Affirm at a lower dollar threshold. However, with Adaptive Checkout, we could lower the floor limit to $50 and offer the ability to Pay in 4 with Affirm, alongside monthly payment options, making Poshmark accessible to a broader audience of buyers. We adopted Affirm’s Adaptive Checkout to reduce friction and deliver more flexibility and choice for Poshers pay for the items they want, in the way that they want.

As one of the early adopters of Affirm's Adaptive Checkout, we knew this was the right solution for us. We wanted to provide our customers with the best shopping experience and make purchasing what they love easier. By offering Adaptive Checkout, we are making it possible for our customers to shop confidently, knowing they have a flexible payment option that suits their needs.

Affirm: The data shows Adaptive Checkout has increased conversion +40% and contributed to an overall +138% lift in Affirm Captured Sales for Poshmark. What do you make of that result, and what impact has that had on your business?

Poshmark [Adam]: The results of Adaptive Checkout have been remarkable for Poshmark. Eligible customers can now use Affirm for more than half of our available inventory. We are seeing a strong uptake of these options, demonstrating the tremendous value of this offering to buyers and sellers. Adaptive Checkout has significantly impacted our business and has been well received by our customers.

Additionally, the increase in repeat Poshmark customer orders using Affirm is an excellent sign that our customers are finding value in this partnership. The ability to offer our customers a complete suite of flexible, transparent payment solutions via Affirm has been a game-changer for us and sets our marketplace apart. We look forward to continuing this partnership with Affirm and providing even more value to our customers in more geographies in the future.

Affirm: How significant is that for your business?

Poshmark [Adam]: Not only have we seen a significant increase in revenue growth, but we have also decreased buyer friction by creating a seamless experience for the Poshmark community. The increased conversion of 40% is a testament to how well-received this solution has been, and the retention of repeat buyers is a great sign of customer satisfaction.

By lowering the floor limit to $50 and expanding to offer Pay in 4 with Affirm, we have made Poshmark more accessible to a broader audience of buyers across a range of demographics. In addition, by providing a flexible and seamless payment solution to our community, we have created a better shopping experience that has increased customer loyalty and ultimately supports the individual sellers that make up the Poshmark community.

Affirm: The data shows that 56% of Poshmark customers who bought with Affirm make a repeat purchase within 11 months of the first transaction. How is that helping with your goals for customer retention?

Poshmark [Adam]: The fact that 56% of Poshmark customers who bought with Affirm make a repeat purchase within 11 months of the first transaction is an excellent indicator of customer satisfaction and retention. This result demonstrates the value that our customers find in using Affirm for their purchases and the seamless experience that they have had with the service.

A high rate of repeat purchases is a critical factor in achieving our goals for customer retention. When customers make multiple purchases with us, it shows that they are satisfied with their experience and are likely to continue doing business with us – and supporting our sellers – in the future. Repeat purchases also help to increase customer lifetime value and build a robust and loyal customer base.