Pinterest will now notify users when there is a price drop on Buyable Pins.
Pinterest introduced their latest venture into online shopping last summer by making it possible for users to purchase pinned items without leaving the mobile app. The website is known for being used as a visual wish list for goods users hope to buy or own in the future. Now users need only make a couple taps within their Pinterest iOS or Android apps to buy these coveted items. The newest rollout will entice users to stick around and buy even more things: by keeping tabs on the price. Pinterest will automatically alert users when a pin is discounted somewhere on the web.
You can tell if a pin is buyable if it has a blue price below the image.
Pinterest has offered price-drop notifications since 2013, but dropped them in favor of focusing on Buyable Pins. This indicates Pinterest is serious about improving its fledgling e-commerce feature. The company’s ventures will tie the platform closer to an infinite number of e-commerce sites, and also monetize the service through product pins. As many as 10,000 retailers have reportedly signed up for the program, major players like Nordstrom, Macy’s and Neiman Marcus.
The notification tool was reportedly driven by user behavior. Often, when users are shopping, they waited for the price to drop before making a purchase. Pinterest wanted to ensure that they could help the shopping experience along, and convert browsers into consumers. The company says more than 1 million Buyable Pins show price drops everyday.
If you save a buyable pin to a board, you will receive an email for when the price drops.
The product is currently being rolled out slowly to mobile users through iOS or Android, so users may have to wait to receive changes in their email notifications. Pinterest also has yet to add any form of tailoring, users can’t track specific pins, boards or categories. They can opt-in or opt-out of the service, which feels restrictive in its lack of customization. Mobile notifications are also an obvious omission.
“I don’t think it’s a unique psychology to Pinterest, but we tried to build a shopping experience that worked for that customer experience — discovering a product, waiting for the right moment, and then completing the purchase in a seamless way,” said Pinterest Product Marketing Manager, Sarah Shere.
Pinterest is forecast to make around $169M in revenue this year.
Pinterest has always offered the benefit of increasing web traffic to businesses. The companies Buyable Pins may bypass that by encouraging users to stick to their own e-commerce, thereby losing customers. However, the company’s partnership with major retail players concludes that it’s a business opportunity that shouldn’t be missed.
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