Pinterest is steadily expanding from a platform for inspiration to a platform that gets that inspiration shipped to your door. On Tuesday, July 30, Pinterest launched updated catalogs and personalized shopping hubs, continuing the network’s expansion into online shopping.
Users will soon see additional personalized shopping suggestions in the home feed. In the home feed, a new icon displays a preview with a handful of products. Tapping on the “picked for you” icon will lead users to a new personalized package of product pins. When a product in the home feed sparks inspiration, clicking on the item will also lead to the personalized shopping hub based on interests, searches, and brands you’ve previously interacted with on the social network.
The updated product catalogs collect products from the same brand in a single location, allowing users to browse for products from a specific retailer. The catalogs are accessible by clicking on the “more from [brand name]” link on a product pin. Catalogs mix a product photo with the price for browsing, while clicking on a product will take users to the retailer’s website to finish shopping. While catalogs launched earlier this year, the updated brand hub takes on a new format, allowing users to browse from in-stock products from the same retailer.
In addition to the updated shopping tools, Pinterest shared results of a study conducted by Neustar looking at how users shop on the platform. While the study suggested twice the return on investment over other social media platforms, the results also indicate that Pinterest users often wait before making a purchase. More than 75% of the sales, the study suggests, came more than a week after the user saw the original ad.
The new catalogs and personalized shopping hubs continue Pinterest’s push as a destination for online shopping. This spring, Pinterest launched the ability for businesses to upload entire catalogs and began bringing more personalized shopping recommendations into the feed. Tuesday’s updates continue adding features with the focus on personalization and catalogs. Last year, Pinterest replaced buyable pins with product pins, adding features such as indicating whether or not a product was in stock.
