Pinterest are embracing their proposition as a visual discovery engine with new shopping features aimed at supporting traders who use inspiration as a magnet for sales.
The visual discovery engine have been making headlines last week in a bid to assume the role of a social commerce platform. It saw Pinterest introducing an enhanced visual search tool, Lens which joined forces with an innovation, Product Pins to surface shoppable products or suggestions based on consumers snaps – with the current price for an item and a direct link to the checkout on the retailer’s site.
“Pinterest has already enabled us to inspire consumers across Europe to consider Leroy Merlin for home ideas. Because of the open mindset of the audience on Pinterest who are looking for ideas of what to try and buy next, we were eager to explore more shopping features to help customers take their home projects from inspiration to action. So far, Pinterest’s shopping features have increased traffic to our site, leading to more engagement and potential purchases.”
– Tatiana Okutina, head of comms, home improvement projects, Leroy Merlin.
Pinterest gained momentum as a discovery platform by using inspiration to tap into shoppers’ individual taste and filter out irrelevant products, tackling the ‘paradox of choice’ as an obstacle to the purchasing journey.
Shop the look ads
Today, they’re introducing Shop the Look ads for businesses to reach people who want to go from dreaming to decision making, from inspiration to purchase.
Traders will be able to feature multiple products in a single ad so Pinners can discover great products in the context of a Pin’s image and click to checkout on the retailer’s site. Inspired by the engine’s organic Shop the Look Pins, sellers can tag up to 25 items in an image. With the new format, shoppers will see a preview showcase of four items and can click through to see more, giving them a fresh, new way to interact with a brand’s products.
The move will see Shop the Look ads rolling out in the US over the coming months. Shop the Look as an organic shopping feature is currently available to select partners in markets including the UK, Brazil, Germany, France and Japan.
New business profiles
Business profiles are getting a new look in the shape of a personal business page on the discovery engine. A dedicated Shop tab enables people to shop items directly from the sellers’ profile and drive traffic to their sites. With this redesign, businesses can also customise their profile cover with video or images to more effectively highlight their brand story and engage Pinners. The streamlined navigation also includes an updated messaging feature for quick customer support and feedback.
Catalogues and Shopping Ads
With Catalogues, businesses can upload their full catalogue to Pinterest and automatically turn their products into shoppable Product Pins. They’re now extending the feature to select partners starting in France, Germany, Spain and Italy. The manoeuvre is aimed at automatically creating Pinterest ads from an existing product catalogue at scale. Businesses can seamlessly turn their product feed into inspiring, actionable Pinterest ads.
“As people around the world use Pinterest for shopping inspiration, we’ll continue making updates to help Pinners discover the right Pin to shop at the right time, while giving businesses the tools to reach people while they’re in a planning mindset.”
– Pinterest.
2 Responses
Oh Geez! more online retailing. Just what the world needs.