By: Yen Conrod Tran, Business Marketing Lead, Canada, Pinterest
Remember when shopping was actually enjoyable? Your customers miss that experience. As shopping has moved online, we’ve focused so much on making e-commerce easy that we forgot to make it fun. In this new world of click-to-purchase and ‘add to cart’, we lost the joy of discovery and the spark of inspiration that lead to a better shopping experience. But inspiration is what makes online buying become online shopping. That’s the inspired shopping experience we’re building on Pinterest today.
With the rapid shift to e-commerce, shoppers are bombarded with products, and it’s become more difficult than ever for advertisers to reach and inspire their customers. Four decades into e-commerce, our research shows that just 4 in 10 people say they prefer it to shopping in real life. *
At Pinterest, our mission is to bring everyone the inspiration to create a life they love. We’re building a place that brings back the joy of real-world discovery, and shopping on Pinterest is different because of that. It’s not just about transacting—it’s about the magic of browsing, discovery and finding inspiration on the way to buying. 50% of people who use Pinterest say it helps them browse, compare or find items like they would window shopping. That’s 2x higher than on social media competitors.**
Pinterest’s latest campaign celebrates this unique journey, showing how people go from open-ended discovery to finding what they actually love. 
So, how can brands inspire consumers to spark joy in their e-commerce experiences?
- Inspired shopping is expansive
Help your audiences go wide before they go deep, from “this is what I want” to “this is what I didn’t even know I needed”. Allow your audience to browse the proverbial aisles by helping them stumble upon related products. Show items in an environment, on people, and from different angles. On Pinterest, Collection Slideshow enables the dynamic creation of immersive, video-like shoppable ad experiences through catalogue integrations.
- Inspired shopping is actionable
Inspiration means being moved to act, to go from “cottagecore vibe” to “wood credenza”. On Pinterest, brands are an important part of the shopping ecosystem. Brands are welcome. You are not just messaging, you are delivering inspiration. Without your products, Pinners couldn’t act. People are already saving ideas and products they love on Pinterest, and organic shopping surfaces allow you to reach shoppers at different stages of their journey—whether they’re finding their tastes and style, browsing for ideas, considering and saving options, and when they’ve finally found that thing they love. When brands upload their catalogs, product Pins organically appear on our shopping surfaces making you even more discoverable to your customers wherever they are in their journey. 
- Inspired shopping is additive
It’s time well spent, not a timed sprint. It’s memorable. It’s enjoyable. And it’s fun. Shopping in stores, consumers aren’t looking to be rushed through the checkout process more quickly. They want something to delight them—something to look forward to. This is why people come to Pinterest after all. Tap into upcoming moments or seasonal trends to inspire your creative approach. Pinterest’s Trends tool and Pinterest Predicts report dig into insights informed by rising search trends, so leverage them to keep your content fresh and relevant through the year, meet your customer where their interest is piquing, and let the sparks fly. Bring back the joy of discovery. Don’t bank on the impulse buy—help your customers find what they actually love. Discover the shopping experience on Pinterest. Visit Pinterest Business to upload your catalogue and get started. ________________________________________________________________________________
