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Buyable pins reported to be an (embarrassing) flop, according to an article on qz.

achow 11y ago
(In 2014) Pinterest reportedly brought in $25 million in revenue,..forecasts of $2.8 billion in revenue and 329 million users by 2018… the figures suggest the company is at the cusp of hockey-stick-like growth. http://qz.com/581191/why-2016-is-poised-to-be-the-year-that-it-all-comes-together-for-pinterest/ http://qz.com/581191/why-2016-is-poised-to-be-the-year-that-...
eva1984 11y ago
I think those buyable-button-like initiatives are inherently flawed from ground up. Clicking ads, comparing to viewing them, is rare enough, with a lot of are done by mistakes, so what makes those people think their users could make a decision of purchase, which often takes several rounds of researching, comparing ,hesitating to make the final stride, by randomly scrolling through something might bot even be relevant, is totally beyond me. Even if the user happens to like the item in the ads, the actual action would come after several hours, do they expect user to come back to app, find the ad, then click the buy button?
- keithpeter 11y ago
  Quote from OP "Most notably, Kendall also led the move to narrow Pinterest's ad focus on just two categories, retailers and consumer-packaged-goods brands, as The Wall Street Journal first reported in December." Smallish purchases (music, books, household items, some aspects of holiday spending): I tend to go with the first thing I find that looks right. I could imagine using a 'buy' button next to an entry in a discovery system such as Pinterest, although I'm not in their majority demographic. Larger purchases (stage piano, new laptop &c): yes, I research and have a bias towards places where I can try stuff out (I'm old). This organisation seems to want to specialise.
  - ddingus 11y ago
    As I believe they should. I got on Pinterest really early, one of the first waves of, "you are on the list" invites. What amazed me is the number of professional women who use Pinterest very regularly. Often, it's not casual use either. They will get on, and use it hard for a good long time. Lunch, burning a little time at the end of the day, various casual times... The whole thing works a lot like window shopping with friends, and the lists of things they want and like keeps building. These people want stuff, and they use Pinterest to refine that want down to a science, at which point they will be willing to pay easily for things at the top of those lists. Because it has that shopping, but not really shopping look and feel combined with the essence of scrapbook creating and sharing activity, careful analysis and great care is going to be needed to keep it light and as immersive as it is. Right now, most users I've had a chance to observe and talk to about Pinterest, love it. It meets some basic need they have and they will be willing to help Pinterest make money, so long as that need gets met with a great experience. Otherwise, may as well go shopping elsewhere...

achow 11y ago

(In 2014) Pinterest reportedly brought in $25 million in revenue,..forecasts of $2.8 billion in revenue and 329 million users by 2018… the figures suggest the company is at the cusp of hockey-stick-like growth. http://qz.com/581191/why-2016-is-poised-to-be-the-year-that-it-all-comes-together-for-pinterest/ http://qz.com/581191/why-2016-is-poised-to-be-the-year-that-...

eva1984 11y ago

I think those buyable-button-like initiatives are inherently flawed from ground up. Clicking ads, comparing to viewing them, is rare enough, with a lot of are done by mistakes, so what makes those people think their users could make a decision of purchase, which often takes several rounds of researching, comparing ,hesitating to make the final stride, by randomly scrolling through something might bot even be relevant, is totally beyond me. Even if the user happens to like the item in the ads, the actual action would come after several hours, do they expect user to come back to app, find the ad, then click the buy button?

keithpeter 11y ago
Quote from OP "Most notably, Kendall also led the move to narrow Pinterest's ad focus on just two categories, retailers and consumer-packaged-goods brands, as The Wall Street Journal first reported in December." Smallish purchases (music, books, household items, some aspects of holiday spending): I tend to go with the first thing I find that looks right. I could imagine using a 'buy' button next to an entry in a discovery system such as Pinterest, although I'm not in their majority demographic. Larger purchases (stage piano, new laptop &c): yes, I research and have a bias towards places where I can try stuff out (I'm old). This organisation seems to want to specialise.
- ddingus 11y ago
  As I believe they should. I got on Pinterest really early, one of the first waves of, "you are on the list" invites. What amazed me is the number of professional women who use Pinterest very regularly. Often, it's not casual use either. They will get on, and use it hard for a good long time. Lunch, burning a little time at the end of the day, various casual times... The whole thing works a lot like window shopping with friends, and the lists of things they want and like keeps building. These people want stuff, and they use Pinterest to refine that want down to a science, at which point they will be willing to pay easily for things at the top of those lists. Because it has that shopping, but not really shopping look and feel combined with the essence of scrapbook creating and sharing activity, careful analysis and great care is going to be needed to keep it light and as immersive as it is. Right now, most users I've had a chance to observe and talk to about Pinterest, love it. It meets some basic need they have and they will be willing to help Pinterest make money, so long as that need gets met with a great experience. Otherwise, may as well go shopping elsewhere...