Pinterest continues e-commerce evolution with AR, Amazon integration

Pinterest is introducing a wide range of new features aimed at increasing the shoppability of its platform.

The visually-oriented social media network is unveiling a new suite of digital commerce capabilities. These include several new features of its Idea Pins, which are shoppable video pins initially rolled out in July 2021.

Pinterest is integrating Idea Pins with its augmented reality (AR)-based AR Try on tool. Released in January 2020, AR Try on enables consumers to virtually try on various cosmetics products. This new capability allows creators to tag their Idea Pins with a new Try on sticker to add lip products, enabling users to try on and shop directly from the Idea Pin. To access the new feature, creators can select the Try on sticker and search over 10,000 Try on-enabled product links to add to an Idea Pin. 

The company is also integrating Idea Pins with the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate marketing offering. This will enable creators in the U.S. to add affiliate links from an assortment of millions of Amazon products and earn commission on qualifying purchases. The Amazon Associates Program integration is intended to offer customers an easier way to shop Amazon products on Pinterest,by providing up-to-date product information including availability and pricing, as well as product imagery and descriptions.

Additionally, creators now have the option to make their Idea Pins automatically shoppable by enabling shopping recommendations on their Idea Pins. The new “shop similar” feature uses Pinterest's visual search technology to recommend Product Pins that are visually similar to the content within the Pin, giving Pinners the ability to shop what they see.

With this new feature, Pinterest is enabling visual search on video content for the first time. Also, new “watch” and “browse” tabs are full-screen feeds of Idea Pins that consumers can scroll through, tailored to their tastes and preferences.

And a new feature called Takes enable Idea Pin creators to engage with consumers. User responses will link back to creators’ original Idea Pins, and creators can also highlight select responses. build more meaningful engagement with their communities and to inspire action.

As part of the Takes rollout, Pinterest is providing range of new publishing tools for Idea Pins, including seasonal and interactive stickers, thousands of music tracks with new editing capabilities, new video editing and recording capabilities, and a preview mode that helps creators see the final output before publishing.

“The new features empower creators to publish high-quality content that drives meaningful engagement with their communities and pays them for their inspiring content,” Pinterest said in a corporate blog post. “These new experiences offer Pinners more ways to watch, make and shop creator content.”

“Creators can now share the inspirational content our customers love on Pinterest while delivering an easy shoppable experience across the millions of items available on Amazon,” said Matt Watson, director, Amazon Associates. “Amazon Associates is always looking to introduce new ways for creators to share products they love while increasing their earning potential, and Idea Pins do just that.”

New Pinterest features and experiences will start rolling out on iOS, Android, web and desktop on Wednesday, Oct. 20.