Pinterest has acquired two startups in its bid to push mobile shopping on its visual bookmarking app. The two companies are Pext, an app that matches images to user-created memes, and The Hunt, a community-run shopping service, reports the Wall Street Journal.
In particular, Pinterest is interested in utilizing the experience of the individuals behind the acquired services to improve its own search functionality, therefore making it easier for users to find (and buy) relevant pins.
The Hunt’s community of members already works with image-heavy apps like Pinterest, alongside other social networks such as Tumblr and Instagram, to help users source products they originally came across via those services. The Hunt’s CEO, Tim Weingarten, will join Pinterest’s commerce team as a product manager.
The Pext procurement is further related to acquiring talent. The app’s co-founder, Harsh Goel, specializes in image indexing and advertising (two golden words for a scrapbooking service such as Pinterest), while his past experience at Google should also come in handy.
With the purchase of the two startups, Pinterest’s acquisition tally has now grown to nine. The app’s head of engineering, Michael Lopp, said the following in a post: “We welcome the talented teams from The Hunt and Pext to Pinterest. As some of the best minds in mobile shopping, monetization, and image indexing technologies, their contributions will be incredibly valuable.”
Turning its users’ “discoveries” into shopping experiences has become a domineering strategy for Pinterest. The app first launched buyable pins in June and since then the number of purchasable items on Pinterest has doubled from 30 million to 60 million, according to Forbes. Depending on the product, a buyable pin can include everything from its price, to options regarding its colour and size.
Recently, the app took that approach one step further, by organizing all its buyable pins in one convenient place; the Pinterest Shop.
