BigCommerce Customers Can Now Sell on Pinterest Across Devices

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Over the past few months, we have rolled out broad availability of Pinterest Buyable Pins, and today we’re excited to share that this functionality is now available for desktop devices, making it easier than ever for Pinterest users to find, save and purchase products from any device.

With all the focus on ‘mobile first,’ why should you care about desktop functionality? Simple: desktop purchases still account for more than half of all online conversions. During the 2015 holiday season, mobile sales accounted for 18% of total online sales. While more and more brands focus increasingly on mobile first and optimizing for the mobile checkout experience, desktop UX and conversion remains the primary driver of ecommerce revenue.

On Pinterest, 80% of traffic comes from the platform’s mobile app, but with checkout experiences mostly taking place via desktop, Buyable Pins are now expanding to match current consumer preferences.

Multi-Product Carts and New Payment Gateways

According to research from Google, 90% of multi-device owners regularly switch between screens to complete everyday tasks. To help merchants convert these ‘browse now, buy later’ shoppers, Pinterest is also rolling out a new multi-device shopping cart, available now on Android and in the coming months on iOS.

For example, shoppers using Pinterest on their mobile phones to research and Save products they want to purchase, can now add these items to a persistent shopping cart, which they can then access by logging into their Pinterest accounts on another device to complete the purchase. The feature also supports multiple products, so customers can now buy from multiple merchants simultaneously — all orders from Pinterest are processed alongside those from your branded online store.

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Buyable Pins, which were initially launched for mobile devices in 2015, are available to all U.S.-based customers and can be enabled by setting up Pinterest as a sales channel in the BigCommerce Channel Manager. Beginning this week, we’ll be adding support for merchants using Auth.net as their payment gateway, and support for Stripe will be added in the coming weeks. Merchants using PayPal powered by Braintree as their payment gateway already have access. You can read Pinterest’s full list of requirements here.

Login here to begin using the Pinterest integration.

Pinterest as a Marketplace Player

With Buyable Pins enabled, users shopping on Pinterest can buy products in only a few clicks without needing to leave the mobile app or desktop site –– functioning similarly to Amazon, on which customers can buy a variety of items from various retailers without leaving the marketplace.

This type of holistic multi-device shopping experience, where a user’s login saves product information and activity, positions Pinterest more actively as an ecommerce marketplace, presenting a wide variety of brands and products on a single platform.

Buyable Pins are populated to shoppers based on individual interests, previous activity and which accounts a user follows. Buyable Pins also appear in the ‘Shop’ section of Pinterest. Worth noting, pins with prices get 36% more engagement than those without.

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According to a broad survey of U.S. consumers conducted by BigCommerce and research firm Kelton Global, 30% of all online shoppers say they would be likely to make a purchase directly on social platforms. And, with the new Pinterest functionalities providing an experience mostly associated with marketplaces, it is relevant to note that the survey revealed unique shopper characteristics of those browsing and buying on marketplaces in particular, including:

  • Shoppers on marketplaces search for product online more often and spend more online, too.
  • The marketplace shopper is more likely than the average shopper to enjoy taking their time to find the right deal (62% v. 54%).
  • These shoppers are more likely to research brands before making a purchase (61% v. 48%).
  • Average amount spent per year per shopper on marketplaces: $488.
  • What marketplace shoppers buy: Book, movies, music (44%), Clothing, shoes and accessories (43%), Computers and electronics (34%), Health and beauty products (29%).

A Marketplace of a Different Color

Since its inception, Pinterest has been known for its images. Loyal Pinterest users are drawn into the platform and subsequent product offerings most often by high-quality imagery, well curated boards and succinct product copy.


Think of this new Pinterest positioning as a mix between Amazon and Instagram.
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While this has parallels to buyer behavior and preferences on other online marketplaces, success on Pinterest is more heavily correlated with quality photography and aesthetically curated pages. Price and product comparison will likely still drive heavy amounts of conversion, but unlike on Amazon where price and reviews are main conversion points, those browsing and buying on Pinterest are looking first for engaging, relevant imagery that showcases a particular lifestyle.

Think of this new Pinterest positioning as a mix between Amazon and Instagram. Success on this platform will depend heavily on your target audience (think design-minded shoppers looking for unique items relevant to their lifestyle) and related, design-oriented photography. Your keyword strategy, driven by hashtags, is also exceptionally important.

Getting Started on Pinterest

To begin using Buyable Pins, you’ll first need to connect your store to Pinterest in the BigCommerce Channel Manager using your Pinterest business account. If you don’t yet have a business account with Pinterest, you can either create one or convert an existing account into a business account. Creating a business account has the added benefit of providing access to other great tools such as Pinterest Analytics and Pinterest’s ad product, Promoted Pins.

Both mobile and desktop Buyable Pins will be made available to all Pinterest-approved stores. Please note the application process can take up to five business days.

Once you’ve completed setup, you’ll then be able to send your BigCommerce product catalog to Pinterest along with your listing application.

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After your store is approved, your Pinterest profile will automatically be updated with a ‘Shop Pins from’ button and existing product Pins will begin appearing blue, showing customers they can now purchase them directly on Pinterest.

Orders generated through Pinterest Buyable Pins will appear in the control panel alongside those from your online store (designated by a Pinterest logo), and inventory is synced automatically allowing you to use existing workflows for processing and fulfillment. If you’d like to see a complete list of orders from Pinterest, you can do so in the View Orders section of your store by selecting the ‘Orders from Pinterest’ custom view.

For now, Buyable Pins are only available to merchants selling in the U.S. that meet Pinterest’s policies and advertising guidelines.

For those selling through other marketplace channels without an independent webstore, now is the perfect time to expand your multi-channel strategy and increase product and brand discoverability through Pinterest.