Shopper Experience
07 July 2022
These new features show how Pinterest wants to grow ecommerce
The platform is rolling out a new API, product tagging and video capabilities for merchants.
Product tagging on Pinterest. (Courtesy photo)
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Pinterest has been making a series of moves signaling an expansion of ecommerce capabilities.
It was apparent as the visually-oriented social platform brought on a new CEO last week. Bill Ready brings experience as the former head of Google commerce and payments. In announcing his transition to executive chairman, cofounder Ben Silbermann hinted at how ecommerce would be the focus of Pinterest’s “next chapter.”
It was apparent through M&A. Earlier in June, Pinterest acquired The Yes, an AI-powered shopping app that provides a personalized feed of fashion items based on a user’s size and preferences. With the deal, Pinterest appointed The Yes CEO Julie Bornstein as its head of ecommerce strategy.
Now, it is apparent through product updates.
On Thursday, Pinterest announced a series of new features specifically designed for merchants, including a shopping-focused API and product tagging. The release offers a look at the tools through which the image-based platform will aim to grow as a shopping destination.
The company indicated it is seeing a convergence of commerce-related activities on the platform. The number of merchant catalogs on the platform increased 87% in Q1 2022 compared to the year prior, per the company.
At the same time, users are increasingly in a buying mood. The company said 89% of weekly Pinners use Pinterest as inspiration in their path to purchase, while the number of Pinners engaging with shopping surfaces on Pinterest grew over 215% in 2021.
The personnel announcements and data sets the tone for the company's designs on becoming a home for shopping. New features point at how it will work.
Pinterest’s strong suit is in the early stages of a journey. Users look to the platform for ideas. With commerce features, Pinterest wants to create a path where they can purchase what they see.
"Our vision for shopping is to make it possible to buy anything Pinners are inspired by on the platform," Pinterest SVP of engineering Jeremy King, said in a statement.
With the new features, King said, the goal is to allow brands and retailers to “reach high-intent Pinners during the earliest stage of their shopping journey with the most updated catalog data.”
The features announced Thursday include the following:
Product tagging on Pins
This will allow merchants to make lifestyle Pins shoppable. Building on already-available standalone product Pins, This allows merchants to add products from their catalog to scene images. “In initial tests, Pinners showed 70% higher shopping intent on product Pins tagged in scene/brand images than standalone product Pins,” Pinterest said.
The Pinterest API for Shopping
This will provide merchants with new tools to manage a catalog and product metadata. This will allow merchants to give Pinterest users more accurate information about pricing and availability of items that appear on the platform.
Video in catalog
Seeing success of “video-like ad formats,” Pinterest is rolling out new capabilities that allow merchants to add video of products within a catalog. This will offer the chance to show a product from multiple angles.
Shop tab on business profiles
An updated shop tab will allow merchants to customize a product group’s cover image and description, and offers an enhanced mobile interface.
The takeaway
These aren’t the first shopping features Pinterest has rolled out recently. Back in March, it introduced a personalized shopping page for users, as well as a beta of in-app checkout. It has rolled out augmented reality try-on tools earlier this year.
With the recent acquisition of The Yes and Ready’s introduction as CEO all coming just within the last month, it’s probably a good bet that upgrades will continue.
But the features rolled out Thursday offer a look at pieces of the journey it is moving into place. Pinterest wants to help users get a good look at items displayed in Pins and engage directly with brands and retailers, while allowing brands to ensure those items are priced and available.
Pinterest isn’t alone among platforms making a push into social commerce. To name a few recent releases: Snapchat expanded AR features designed for ecommerce, Instagram added product tagging and Twitter recently announced a shopping-focused partnership with Shopify.
It means brands and retailers will have more places to not just run ads, but set up a store-like presence. It reinforces that a new wave of ecommerce is emphasizing reaching shoppers wherever they are, rather than directing them to a couple of platforms. This has the potential to be powerful. After all, Pinterest has more than 400 million monthly active users. That's a big community to tap.
With these buildouts, each platform's ecommerce capabilities will have its own distinct flavor. Along with an emphasis on the discovery phase of the shopping journey, Pinterest characterizes what it’s building as a “home for taste-driven shopping.” It will be intriguing to see where the personalization features from The Yes fit into that.
Still, it’s worth remembering that it’s widely acknowledged that no platform has cracked the code on social commerce yet.
Pinterest's ecommerce push has our attention. It will be interesting to see whether brands and retailers start to report success on the platform as these new features roll out.
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Marketing
09 June 2023
'There's a lot of ways to frame value'
Campbell Soup Company CEO Mark Clouse offered thoughts on messaging amid inflationary shifts in consumer behavior.
Photo by Kelly Common on Unsplash
After months of elevated inflation and interest rate hikes that have the potential to cool demand, consumers are showing more signs of shifting behavior.
It’s showing up in retail sales data, but there’s also evidence in the observations of the brands responsible for grocery store staples.
The latest example came this week from Campbell Soup Company. CEO Mark Clouse told analysts that the consumer continues to be “resilient” despite continued price increases on food, but found that “consumers are beginning to feel that pressure” as time goes on.
This shows up in the categories they are buying. Overall, Clouse said Campbell sees a shift toward shelf-stable items, and away from more expensive prepared foods.
There is also change in when they make purchases. People are buying more at the beginning of the month. That’s because they are stretching paychecks as long as possible.
These shifts change how the company is communicating with consumers.
Clouse said the changes in behavior are an opportunity to “focus on value within our messaging without necessarily having to chase pricing all the way down.”
“No question that it's important that we protect affordability and that we make that relevant in the categories that we're in," Clouse said. "But I also think there's a lot of ways to frame value in different ways, right?”
A meal cooked with condensed soup may be cheaper than picking up a frozen item or ordering out. Consumers just need a reminder. Even within Campbell’s own portfolio, the company can elevate brands that have more value now, even if they may not always get the limelight.
The open question is whether the shift in behavior will begin to show up in the results of the companies that have raised prices. Campbell’s overall net sales grew 5% for the quarter ended April 30, while gross profit margins held steady around 30%. But the category-level results were more uneven. U.S. soup sales declined 11%, though the company said that was owed to comparisons with the quarter when supply chains reopened a year ago and expressed confidence that the category is seeing a longer-term resurgence as more people cook at home following the pandemic. Snacks, which includes Goldfish and Pepperidge Farm, were up 12% And while net sales increased overall, the amount of products people are buying is declining. Volumes were down 7%.
These are trends happening across the grocery store. Campbell is continuing to compete. It is leading with iconic brands, and a host of different ways to consume them. It is following that up with innovation that makes the products stand out. Then, it is driving home messaging that shows consumers how to fit the products into their lives, and even their tightening spending plans.
Campbell Soup is more than 150 years old, and has seen plenty of difficult economic environments. It is also a different business today, and will continue to evolve. At the end of the day, continued execution is what’s required.
“If it's good food, people are going to buy it, especially if it's a great value,” Clouse said.
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