Interview: Dan Lurie, Head of Growth and Shopping Product, Pinterest
RTIH gets the low down on Pinterest’s first ever advertiser summit Pinterest Presents, and the company’s journey to become a place to shop, not just a place to buy.
RTIH: Tell us about Pinterest Presents
DL: This is our first ever global advertising summit, which we hosted this week and which gave marketers an opportunity to have a first-hand view of how Pinterest differentiates itself and for us to really show why advertising on the platform is essential to a brand’s media mix.
We wanted to find a really creative and thoughtful way to connect with the brands and agencies we already work with, as well as those intrigued about how to reach their audience on the platform.
The event felt like a content-rich talk-show rather than a traditional conference - packed with insights, inspiring local speakers, and a couple of surprise celebrity appearances. It was a hugely exciting moment for us as a company.
RTIH: You gave an exclusive look at your latest ad product for retailers. Could you give more details on that?
DL: We’ve just announced Pinterest Premiere, our new ad solution that offers a unique video package.
Pinterest users are increasingly using video on the platform to discover new ideas, and help them decide what to do or buy next.
Pinners are watching nearly a billion video views per day on the platform, which is a 120% YoY increase (aource: Pinterest Internal Data, Oct 2019 vs 2020, Global). In fact, the view rate for video ads on Pinterest is three times higher than other social platforms.
So, we’re now offering advertisers the opportunity to reach their audience even more efficiently at scale, by owning exclusive video placement on the home feed for a specific period of time.
This means advertisers can align their brand with the moments and trends that are most relevant to their audience.
We also announced Pinterest Conversion Insights, a new measurement tool designed to help advertisers better understand their impact and performance on the platform.
Starting this spring, advertisers will be able to access promotedand organic metrics in a single report.
RTIH: Recent Bazaarvoice research showed rapid social commerce growth. What are the key drivers here?
DL: As a place to get inspiration and plan for life’s moments, Pinterest has always been a more positive place, with nearly nine in ten weekly users saying that it is an online oasis.
We’re in a unique position because we are personal media, not social media. We’re a visual inspiration platform people use for their own planning and inspiration.
We have served as a place for people to escape news, politics and the negativity that can be found in so many places online.
We’re certainly seeing a seismic shift in purchase patterns indicating that consumers are becoming more comfortable shopping through social platforms.
We can see two main contributing factors that are helping to drive this trend: an emerging generation, and the rise of online shopping fuelled by the pandemic.
Figures published by Santander last year show online sales rose by 52.7% year-on-year in August 2020, compared to an 11.6% rise in the same month of 2019, as the pandemic undoubtedly accelerated e-commerce, with millions of us suddenly spending so much more time at home.
Despite the roadmap to recovery now being in sight, many of these new consumption habits are bound to remain.
And we can’t talk about the rise in social commerce without talking about Gen Z whose spending power is only set to increase as they continue to make their way into adulthood.
Not only does the Gen Z audience prefer a hyper-personalised online shopping experience, but they’ve come to expect it from the retailers they engage with. This means that retail brands have already started to rethink their entire commerce strategy.
RTIH: In the past, Pinterest has been labelled a great place for curation of product content but perhaps lacking certain capabilities around conversion, particularly the ability to buy within the platform. What have you been doing to address this?
DL: We’re building a place to shop online, not just a place to buy. We think shopping is about more than searching for a singular product. It’s about browsing and being inspired by new ideas.
In 2020 we launched a suite of shopping features in the UK including Product Pins and Lens visual search, which were introduced to make it easier for users to find something they love, and be able to click through and buy it.
So far over 800 brands in the UK including John Lewis and Made.com have uploaded their catalogues. In this same year, engagement on Pinterest hit all-time highs with searches up more than 60% year over year and saves up around 40% year on year.
Our ultimate vision for shopping is that you’ll be able to buy anything you see on Pinterest, or get personalised recommendations for something just like it.
Every Pin can be a starting point for shopping and it should be seamless from Pin to purchase. Our shopping features will continue to build on this vision.
RTIH: Pinterest recently commented that “the future of shopping will rely on online experiences that are similar to that of in-store”. What are your strengths in this regard?
DL: It’s no secret that people miss shopping in-store.
But for many of us it’s more than just the transaction at the checkout. People love to wander the aisles of their favourite shops and get inspired.
With current limitations on people being able to visit and browse in-store, it’s become important for us and our partners to work out how to recreate the magic of that experience in the online world.
People come to Pinterest with an open mindset and commercial intent - 97% of searches are unbranded, so people aren’t looking for a specific brand, they’re looking for inspiration.
On Pinterest you can discover products you love you didn’t even know you wanted.
The experience matches shopping in the real world, so you feel like you’re browsing a catalogue, or walking into a boutique with products that seem hand-picked for you.
RTIH: What are your predictions for the social commerce space in a post-Covid world?
DL: Ever evolving customer behaviour and expectations mean that retail’s future will need to combine the best qualities of real-world and online shopping experiences.
Those who relied on in-store showcases to sell now must find new ways to let their customers sense, explore and size up their products.
Mobile-based AR is one of the elements driving the coming revolution in remote retail and allows retailers to leverage the best of both online and bricks and mortar, while making it easier to go from inspiration to purchase.
We launched Pinterest’s Try on feature in 2020, making it possible for people to virtually ‘try on’ lipsticks from several retailers, recreating that in-store magic at a time when stores were closed.
We know shopping - and the future of e-commerce - is more than searching for a singular product.
We’re focused on making that experience as inspirational as possible just like flipping through the pages of a favourite catalogue or walking through the aisles of a store that feels handpicked.
Pinterest can replicate that experience for consumers and retailers through curated collections and visual discovery.
We’re not just a place to buy - we’re building a place to shop online, while creating escapism in inspiration, which is needed now more than ever.
