Neiman Marcus

San Francisco -- Pinterest on Tuesday officially started its foray into e-commerce.

The social networking giant has started rolling out a “buy it” button on its pins on iPhone and iPad apps.  It also is launching new shop categories, including "Shop our picks," a curated selection of seasonal goods, and "Shop" for the latest buyable Pins.

Following a recent open invitation to U.S. retailers from Alibaba’s Jack Ma, everyone from established American brands to smaller mom and pop operations are looking to plug into the China opportunity. But what most American retailers don’t realize is that even with the reduced friction that technology has recently afforded, selling to the Chinese consumer is harder than it looks.

Home furnishings retailer West Elm has named a new senior vice president of design for its retail, catalog and online channels.

The company says Johanna Uurasjarvi will lead the product design team and report to West Elm President Jim Brett.

Bringing more than 20 years of fashion design experience and a lifetime of passion for design and global craft, Uurasjarvi joins West Elm from the lifestyle brand, Anthropologie, where she was the executive creative director of product design.

<The Neiman Marcus Group says currency exchange rates put pressure on traffic in the first quarter as the company reported a smaller than expected boost in same store sales. 

The retailer said same store sales increased 2.2% for the third quarter ended May 2 as the strong dollar had some impact on the retailer’s business.

Dallas - Neiman Marcus Group customers will be able to purchase items through the new “Buyable Pins” e-commerce service across Pinterest, including the company’s Pinterest page, later in June. Millions of pins on Pinterest will now become buyable, meaning customers will be able to purchase Neiman Marcus items they have pinned or discovered on any iOS-enabled device with a few taps.

Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores is signing up for a new e-commerce product from Pinterest that allows users to shop in a whole new way.

Neiman Marcus customers will soon be able to purchase their favorite finds via Buyable Pins on Pinterest.

The retailer announced that millions of pins on Pinterest later this month will become buyable, offering a simple and secure way for customers to buy their favorite finds. In just a few taps, on any iOS enabled device, a customer can buy the products he or she has Pinned or discovered. This service will be solely offered in the U.S. at this time.

Hudson, Ohio -- Fabric and craft specialty retailer Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores is one of the partners for Pinterest’s new Buyable Pins, which is the social networking site’s first crack at e-commerce. Buyable Pins allow consumers to complete the process of discovering a product, saving it to a board and buying it directly on Pinterest.