Pinterest shopping has been part of many businesses’ marketing strategies since it was introduced in 2019, but recent updates have changed how Pinterest shops can be run, with new UK shopping and ad features being launched to make life easier for both shoppers and merchants. Since April 2020, in line with the Covid-19 outbreak, there has been an unprecedented increase in the number of Pinterest users searching for online shopping.
In response to this growing trend and the shift to e-commerce for many brands that were previously typically face-to-face, Pinterest has launched five new tools to make shopping more accessible. The updates are to allow brands to more easily set up shop, grow their sales and reach, and more easily measure performance.
1. Profile and Discovery
The first of the new Pinterest merchant tools is an update to storefront profiles & discovery. Shop tabs are now able to transform into bespoke storefronts allowing brands to personalise their shops. The new storefronts include featured in-stock products, product groups and recommendations. Products are now organised by category meaning it’s easier for items to be discovered and the addition of targeted suggested merchants means pinners will more likely see you when looking at similar posts.
2. Product Tagging
Pinterest has also introduced a new and improved product tagging tool which allows shop owners to tag images with a direct link to their products. Now if you see an image with a tagged item, a bubble with the product details will pop up and if clicked will take the buyer straight through to a purchasing page. Seamless, easy and likely to increase direct sales.
3. Catalogs
Currently, a catalogue of products can be uploaded onto a shops account if you have a business account and have a validated and claimed website. This is a great option for those who have a web-based business which sells products nationally or internationally and wants to get more reach using Pinterest for marketing. The Catalogs option does need an integration (adding code or a plugin onto your website) to work correctly, and Pinterest has pretty strict rules around the need for shipping, returns and refund policies if you want to use this service.
The new Catalogs update means collections of your products and video have now been integrated so you can quickly create streamlined layouts of images and adverts. Choosing a bespoke “hero” asset for ad campaigns and collections of images can help direct traffic to more relevant content and increase sales.
4. Automatic Bidding
Automatic bidding is part of creating paid for ad campaigns within Pinterest. For example, you want to promote a new seasonal product for a month, so you create a Pin using an image, some creative text and set a budget for the campaign. Using ads within Pinterest allows you to get “the most results at the lowest possible cost per result while also spending your entire budget”. These ads need to be created on a desktop and then are only shown on the Pinterest mobile app, so if your demographic is predominantly mobile users, this is a good option for you. The new automatic bidding for Catalog ads, means you get the most out of your budget as it’s more effective as ads are optimised to get the most views for your budget.
5. Conversion Analysis
As a Pinterest business merchant, the new conversion analysis update will allow you to view and analyse consumer habits within the visualisations tool. Trends, purchasing habits and the full customer journey are now available to see. This includes further options to track engagement, clicks and views, to improve and create a richer shopping experience for all future customers.
The new features available will help SME business owners curate content more easily, feature products in a straightforward and more user-friendly way, and monitor the analytics of pins and sales. The instigator for these latest updates is Pinterest’s vision around shoppers being inspired whilst browsing – that is finding products and making a purchase even when they’re not looking for anything specific. An impulse buy has converted into an inspiration buy, bringing the best of offline shopping to the online shopping world.
