Game changer: You can FINALLY buy the things you pin on Pinterest
Like It. Love It. Pin It. Buy It.That’s right, my fellow pinners, Pinterest is finally going to let us purchase all the fantastic things we like.
From DIY craft projects and delicious home-cooked recipes to cute outfits and accessories, we all adore discovering, sharing, and of course, pinning our favorite items onto those neat little boards we so tenderly add to each time we come across something oh so cool. The now five-year-old social media site (along with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) has become one of our best online friends, and now we have even more reason to use it obsessively. Starting in a few weeks, we’ll be able to buy all those snazzy things we bookmark. In other words, we’ll finally be able to bring all the creative ideas we find on Pinterest to life!
It really is as amazing as it sounds. The announcement was made by Pinterest’s CEO Ben Silberman at an event at the company’s San Francisco headquarters on Tuesday. The cool new tool will allow pinners to purchase items without leaving the app through a secure, simple system.
Big-name retailers such as Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Kate Spade, and Cole Haan are already on board. Apple Braintree, as well as Stripe and other major credit card companies have also agreed to partner up so that users can easily tap and buy via a new blue-buy-button that’ll be placed in the top right corner.
“Pinners have been super, super clear about what they want next,” said Silberman. “People want to buy things on Pinterest.” Let’s just say our inner-shopper is ECSTATIC!
Users will be able to find Buyable Pins through the same search tools that are already part of the app, such as, home feed, search, category feeds and boards. What’s even more neat is that we’ll also be able to view details like updated pricing, different colors, and new looks while swiping our way through various product images. For check out, Apple Pay, PayPal or any major credit card can be used. And poof, in a matter of days, you’ll have your pin(s) delivered to your front doorstep.
Buyable Pins will not involve any fees for pinners or merchants. Well, for now, anyway. According to Joanne Bradford, Pinterest’s head of partnerships, there will be no fee to buy or sell on the site. This new addition is bound to be a serious revenue generator, however, and it’s more than likely the social network will explore retailer fees eventually, particularly once retailer adoption grows. One way they could go about doing this is by taking a small chunk from each transaction. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have all recently begun taking great strides towards e-commerce. It’s only natural that Pinterest (which is now valued at a whopping $11 billion and has 70 million monthly active users, according to comScore) finds itself joining the monetization game as the company continues to initiate new ideas to boost advertising revenues. So this step into the world of retail really comes as no huge surprise. When using Pinterest, we’re basically making notes of various things we want (or wish) to buy, right? Why not let us buy it?!
Online purchasing has entered an all new era. And you know, we’re not sad. Though our wallets might be.
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