Pinterest recently announced that they are coming out with a new feature called ‘Buy-It’!
A blue button will soon reside next to the familiar red “Pin It” button, allowing you to make purchases right through Pinterest. According to Pinterest’s blog, Buyable Pins will be released within a few weeks across all platforms.
photo from Pinterest
What’s all the hype about?
‘Buy It’ will benefit both consumers and sellers.
For users of Pinterest, the ‘Buy It’ button will take out the step of being transferred to a new site in order to purchase an item displayed on Pinterest. The seamless user interface will include a scrollable price filter that allows you to search for items within your price range. Since so many people are using online shopping and mobile phones to do their shopping, it is brilliant that Pinterest created this new feature.
For businesses, this will be a new online selling platform that is essentially cost free; Pinterest takes no direct cut from the sale (at least for now). Businesses are still responsible for their end of the purchase, of course, such as shipping costs. Pinterest is expected to change things for small businesses by opening up this platform for monetization – you no longer need an e-commerce site to sell your products. We’re seeing a transformation of the way exchanges take place right before our eyes. With features such as this, we are well into the period of what has been called “social selling.”
Buyable pins will be revolutionary for online shoppers, as well. Pinterest is a unique social media platform where people collect pins of items they intend to buy or things they plan to do.‘Buy It’ will allow people to make purchases they intend to when perusing through Pinterest. Consumers are able to buy products using Apple Pay or by simply entering your credit card information.
How will ‘Buy It’ work?
Initially, buyable pins will be rolling out for large retailers such as Macy’s, Nordstrom’s and Neiman Marcus. Over time, Pinterest will be integrating more e-commerce platforms, allowing more and more businesses to utilize ‘Buy It’.
Two major e-commerce platforms Pinterest will be partnering with are Shopify and Demandware. Sellers already using Shopify and Demandware will easily be able to start using buyable pins to sell their products. Shopify is currently offering a free 14 day trial for online sellers. Buyable pins for Demandware will be rolling out within a few weeks. If you are a business owner, you can also fill out this form through Pinterest to get on the waitlist for buyable pins.
Pinterest is reportedly working hard “to make the implementation of Buyable Pins seamless for small retailers.” Many small businesses already likely already utilize Pinterest to expand their brand or showcase products, making ‘Buy It’ will be the perfect way to increase sales. The number of people shopping online has been steadily increasing over the past five years. Selling products online is crucial for the success of business, large and small.
A quick tip for those who are planning to use buyable pins once they are available; images matter. Like many social media platforms, Pinterest is an image heavy site. The pins that get re-pinned are the ones that look good. If you are planning on selling products through Pinterest, high-quality, sharp photographs of your products are important. Check out this guide from Shopify on how to create quality product photos.
Until now, Pinterest has been a platform for daydreaming about your next summer party, future wedding, and DIY projects you will do someday. Pinterest is making that someday more possible with buyable pins. This ‘Buy It’ update will also expand commerce avenues for businesses. Buyable pins will allow retailers to reach more people and continue to grow their business through Pinterest’s user base, rather than just relying on search engine optimization on search platforms such a Google, Yahoo and Bing.
We’re looking forward to seeing how buyable pins will be beneficial for some of our own clients. Need support in showcasing your products on Pinterest? Are you just beginning to use Pinterest for business? Get in touch with us today to discuss social media marketing ideas for your business.
