Pinterest isn’t placing a pin in its ecommerce ambitions any time quickly.

The social media platform introduced the rollout of further ecommerce-focused choices at its second-annual Pinterest Presents Advertiser Summit on Thursday, together with a instrument to establish tendencies, adverts to monetize thought pins and an API that enables companions to faucet into Pinterest’s first-party knowledge.

In 2021, Pinterest noticed a 52% improve in income to roughly $2 billion, and the corporate is seeking to its ecommerce enterprise as a supply of continued development this yr, CRO Invoice Watkins advised AdExchanger.

The plan is to develop Pinterest into “a personalised purchasing vacation spot with extra methods for manufacturers to faucet into tendencies and creators and develop significant connections with our high-intent customers,” Watkins mentioned.

That may sound like a gross sales pitch, but it surely’s how Pinterest frames its differentiation from different platforms doing the ecommerce factor, like Instagram.

“Our investments are centered on making purchasing as inspirational as doable, like flipping via the pages of your favourite catalog or strolling via the aisles of a retailer that feels handpicked for you,” Watkins mentioned.

First-party knowledge is vital to allow that degree of personalization. Pinterest is constant to develop its in-house tech stack with a deal with automation and enhancing its reporting capabilities in order that its advertiser companions can get extra out of Pinterest’s person knowledge.

Purchasing record

The aim of Pinterest’s newest shopping-related merchandise is to supply retailers with a greater sense of how shoppers are going from analysis to intent to buy, Watkins mentioned.

Checkout, which is now in beta with choose US Shopify retailers, permits customers to buy merchandise on Pinterest’s platform with out being redirected to a separate checkout expertise.

The Pinterest API, in the meantime, will permit builders, retailers and advertisers to combine with Pinterest’s first-party dataset to assist with focusing on, Watkins mentioned.

The rollout of the Checkout product suggests Pinterest might ultimately acquire a proportion of gross sales accomplished on its platform, whereas the API appears extra suited to a SaaS mannequin. However when requested about Pinterest’s curiosity in increasing into these new income streams, Watkins mentioned “All I can share is that our sole income stream in the present day is promoting.”

Shifting on, the Traits instrument, already obtainable within the US, Canada and the UK, will establish sizzling matters on the Pinterest platform earlier than they development so creators and advertisers can tailor their content material to what is going to possible drive engagement among the many person base.

And Concept Adverts, which can also be in beta, monetizes Concept Pins, considered one of Pinterest’s high drivers of engagement. Creators can tag merchandise promoted by their advertiser companions of their Concept Pins.

The entire newly introduced merchandise may very well be notably useful for Pinterest’s small- and medium-sized retail companions to develop their companies, Watkins mentioned. Like many different platforms that depend on ecommerce, Pinterest has recognized small and mid-size retailers as its most promising supply for continued ecommerce-focused development.

The brand new merchandise are additionally meant to differentiate Pinterest as a vacation spot for “purchasing” moderately than “shopping for,” which Watkins says is a key differentiator between Pinterest and different ecommerce-focused social media platforms.

Watkins contrasted Pinterest’s method with what he known as the “myopic on-line shopping for expertise” centered on “trying to find a singular product.”

(Ahem, speak about Instagram with out saying Instagram.)

Moderately than “impulse shopping for,” which is what occurs on different social media platforms with ecommerce companies, Pinterest goes for what Watkins known as “intentional shopping for.”

“We discovered that customers truly spend 50% extra once they take every week to decide,” he mentioned. “And, normally, Pinners spend 2x greater than individuals on different platforms and have 85% larger baskets at checkout.”