Pinterest has unveiled a barrage of new tools this year in its push to become an online commerce powerhouse. The social scrapbooking platform is now launching a feature that lets you monitor the price of the buyable pins on your wish list. The new tool will send users in-app notifications and emails every time the price drops on a product they’ve pinned. This means you can directly access that buyable pin you saved in the past and make your purchase.
Pinterest is likely hoping that the new feature will urge users to revisit its app and make more purchases as a result. For many shopaholics, the best part of the shopping experience is finding a bargain. Keeping tabs on the price of your favorite pins is thus a Pinterest bargain hunter’s dream come true. The app’s development team recognized this and designed the new tools to match user behavior on the service.
“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,” Sarah Shere, Pinterest product marketing manager, told Tech Crunch. “In this case one of those right moments is waiting for the price to drop.”
Buyable pins were launched in June, and since then much of the app’s monetization strategy has revolved around them — along with advertising. Recently, the platform launched the Pinterest Shop, a feature that curates all of the trending buyable pins in one easily accessible spot. Earlier this month, the app made two major acquisitions to boost its search and shopping functionalities.
Buyable pins allow Pinterest users to make purchases directly through the app, with the revenue going to the merchants. All you need in order to start shopping is your credit card details and a postal address. Buyable pins are featured on boards across the app, and can also be found via the search function.
