Following the news from Google on their plans to add ‘Buy Now’ buttons to search engine results in the near future, it appears as if they now have direct competition in corning online sales as photo-sharing giants Pinterest reveal similar plans.
This month, Pinterest unveiled plans to introduce ‘Buyable Pins’, a way which users will be able to purchase things directly within Pinterest and these pins will be introduced in the coming weeks.
With recent developments from Google, Bing and now Pinterest on wanting to take advantage on impulsive decision-making, our Cheshire web-design team will review what changes this will have for Pinterest users and how small, local businesses can look to take advantage of this.
What are Pinterest ‘Buy it now’ pins?
Pins which contain much more information than a normal link, such as a synopsis for a film or ingredients used in a recipe, will now receive a new blue pin which will be called a ‘Rich Pin’. Rich Pins will allow Pinterest users to purchase things from partners that it’s working for.
This means that Pinterest users will now be able to access much more detailed information such as prices, description and will be able to select and view the specific product in a range of different colours and prices using a filter where applicable.
Along with the ‘Rich Pins’, Pinterest have also revealed brand-new streamlined search suggestions where users will now see all the closet matching options the second you start typing. Once you tap on your results, where you spot a blue pin with a price, users will be able to buy the item directly from the app. You can also alter the filter on price, colour, size and much more.
Pinterest by numbers
- Over 70 Million active users
- Over 2 Million Users save product pins to boards on a daily basis
- Over 80% of Pinterest Traffic is from mobile
- 47% of online shoppers brought something as a result of a Pinterest recommendation
- Female Pinterest Users are 30% more likely to shop online than non-users
New Pinterest ‘Price Filter’
What does this mean for Pinterest?
Because customers are hesitant or cautious to provide personal information on mobile devices, the goal for the likes of Google, Facebook and Pinterest is to eliminate the boundaries by using either an in-house or third party system where customers can act on impulsive decision making and make a quick payment without ever leaving the website with any difficulty.
So you are probably questioning “What sets Pinterest apart from the rest of the competition”? Well a Pinterest backed survey found that 87% of its users make purchasing decisions based on what they discover on the site. If the users trust Pinterest for reviews, they stand a much better chance to act on impulsive purchasing decisions.
Along with targeting impulsive sending habits, Pinterest will also gain a lot of analytical information such as purchasing history, abandoned shopping carts and much more which they wouldn’t have any access to.
75% of Pinterest Usage Takes Place on Mobile Devices – Sprout Social
How can small businesses take advantage of this?
With the new feature set to roll out in the US before hitting European soil, I wouldn’t say that it was advisable, I would say that it is essential that small business brands familiarise themselves with Pinterest as an invaluable marketing tool.
When any small business brand signs up to any social media website, the general rule is that users and customers will interact with the brand for customer service and discounts / offers.
Along with the statistics provided further up this blog, Pinterest can become a huge branding opportunity. The following statistics were provided by Cision
- 83 percent of active users prefer to follow a brand than a notable celebrity
- 73 percent of active users prefer to follow a beauty brand than a notable makeup artist
- 70 percent of active users prefer to follow a hair care brand rather than a notable hair stylist
Conclusion
With Google, Bing, Facebook and now Pinterest all following a similar pattern, it seems like Amazon now has some direct completion as rivals look to provide a mobile-friendly, E-Commerce experience in one go.
If you would like to discuss implementing an E-Commerce or mobile-friendly small business brand website, why not get in touch with the Cheshire web-design experts? Call us on 01565 653616 or why not pop in for a coffee and a chat. We are based in Knutsford.