In an effort to simplify e-commerce, Pinterest announced the launch and expansion of multiple features for shoppers and merchants. The platform introduced the Shopping List, which allows users to save their product pins in one place and receive price drop notifications. U.S. and U.K. users can also use The Goods by Pinterest feature, which provides exclusive access to and showcases limited-edition products from DTC brands such as Outdoor Voices, Brooklinen and Olive & June, the company said.
Brands and retailers in the U.K., Australia, Canada, France and Germany can now access the platform’s Verified Merchant Program, which provides sellers who meet qualifications with a blue checkmark on their profiles, among other benefits, and a shopping tab in profile features. Sellers in Australia, Canada, France and Germany can also access the social network’s product tagging tool, according to the announcement.
Pinterest’s feature expansion is a continuation of the platform’s efforts to improve its shopping experience. The company debuted its verified merchant program and store tab features last year. In May, it also launched its Idea Pins and more creator tools to aid in discovery and analytics.
Prior to highlighting emerging DTC brands, the company also partnered with established apparel and cosmetics companies. Anthropologie introduced its first digital-only catalog for its AnthroLiving collection on Pinterest in March. And in January, Pinterest launched its augmented reality testing tool for eyeshadow products and highlighted brands such as Urban Decay, YSL and NYX Cosmetics.
In its announcement, Pinterest positioned the platform as a place where advertisers can access customers. Citing a Dynata study for Pinterest, the social network said its users spend twice as much each month as non-Pinners, have an 85% larger basket size. In addition, according to internal figures, Pinterest users’ engagement with shopping surfaces on its platform grew more than 200% last year.
“We want to help users find the right products for them and be confident that they made a solid decision among reputable merchants with a seamless shopping experience,” said Dan Lurie, Pinterest’s global head of shopping products, in an emailed statement. “We’re excited that Pinterest users in more countries can now go from inspiration to purchase anywhere on Pinterest, bringing us one step closer to our goal of making every Pin easy to shop.”