Following the extensive growth of Pinterest in recent months, several large e-commerce sites have added plugins to the new social network. Recently, both Amazon and eBay have added Pinterest “buttons” to their product pages, allowing users who like a particular item they came across while browsing on one of the e-commerce sites to then share it with their Pinterest community.
Notably, eBay only added this functionality for some of their products – namely fashion, gadget, and kitchen ware, indicating that their other major sellers – electronics and games – are unlikely to attract Pinterest users in the first place.
This move on the part of these two e-commerce giants says a lot about Pinterest’s usefulness and potential. This is a clear indication of Pinterest’s potential for product advertisement. The site offers a clean and appealing way of looking at different product images, so it behooves sellers to integrate with the site and make it easier for users to share images of their products.
Furthermore, eBay’s decision to limit which product pages feature the Pinterest button is a good sign that they recognize the purpose and potential of Pinterest. They are not integrating just to be up to date with the latest trendy social network – they recognize the functionality of Pinterest, where users are most likely to cross over between the two sites, and where they should focus their energies.
Moreover, as almost all Pinterest users also have a Facebook or Twitter account integrated with their Pinterest account, the move to allow easier integration with Pinterest opens up a potential advertising audience far greater than just those already on board with the new startup. When a user pins a photo from Amazon, eBay or free classifieds website, they can now easily share it with their entire virtual network, by providing an appealing image and link which leads directly to purchase.
The biggest issue with committing resources to Pinterest integration right now is the lack of research on how successful Pinterest is as an advertising tool. PriceGrabber recently conducted a survey, and determined that 21% of those identifying as Pinterest users had purchased a product after first coming across it on Pinterest. As indicated by eBay’s strategy, the most frequent purchases by way of Pinterest were clothing, food, or home decorating materials.
