Pinterest is launching a new initiative called “Pinterest TV” in order to get involved with the popular live-stream commerce trend, which has already blossomed in China.
#PinterestTV is here with live episodes weekdays at 3pm PST/6pm EST starting Nov 8. Try something new with @TomDaley1994, chat fashion with @CSiriano, or fix your #PinterestFail with Monica Suriyage. Get ready to tune in: https://t.co/RMpRokrviR pic.twitter.com/fu8auVezYa
— Pinterest (@Pinterest) November 1, 2021
What is Pinterest TV?
As explained by Pinterest:
“Today we’re announcing Pinterest TV, a series of live, original and shoppable episodes featuring creators right on Pinterest. Pinterest TV episodes are refreshed each weekday and will be recorded and available for Pinners to view on-demand, and save and rewatch later.
Each Friday, products will drop in a live shopping setting where Pinners can take advantage of discounts from brands including Patagonia, All Birds, Crown Affair, Melody Ehsani, Outdoor Voices, Mented and more. Simply click the TV icon in the upper left corner of the Pinterest app to view episodes, interact with hosts, ask questions via chat, and get answers live.”
As part of its “Creators Connect” event, Pinterest has been testing out live streaming as a means to increase eCommerce sales. The platform just debuted a collection of celebrity-driven live streams as part of its ‘Creators Connect’ initiative, with the app now allowing users to broadcast their own videos.
The first live streaming television service, YouTube TV is the next stage in that same path, bringing a new level of immediate engagement and purchasing activity straight to the app – just in time for the holiday shopping rush.
Pinterest is also making an attempt to assist extra producers in establishing their own shopping live-streams, as well as a new project that will help them do so.
“Along with Pinterest TV, Pinterest is launching a virtual studio where Pinterest producers work directly with each creator to develop unique content, providing “backstage” A/V support, and go live with engaging episodes.”
This will help broaden the platform’s live shopping focus, as well as provide more opportunities for sellers to sell through the app.
In addition to this, the relevance of online shopping as a trend of focus for virtually every social app is due to the growing interest in eCommerce owing to the epidemic, and the potential that in-stream purchasing can then offer for direct revenue, revenue share for creators, usage patterns, and so on.
“Not a social app,” but rather “a repository of concepts”
Pinterest had long focused on product discovery and purchasing before the epidemic, with CEO Ben Silbermann noting in 2016 that it was “not a social app,” but rather “a repository of concepts.” Shopping has always been the natural progression, and it’s been working towards making its eCommerce vision a reality since then, with simplified catalog ingestion tools, shopping platform integrations, AR product viewing opportunities, improved discovery, and more.
Because of these connections, it’s no surprise to see Pinterest diving into the live-shopping trend, which is already popular in China and has been adopted by Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube among others.
It’s quite possible that it’ll become the next big shift. Indeed, according to McKinsey, China’s live-commerce sector will reach $423 billion in value by the end of next year.
It’s quick, exciting, and may induce impulsive purchasing behavior while also assisting in the development of brand awareness and connection.
It’s possible that it will become a major component of Pinterest shopping, and maybe even the entire buying process.
Pinterest TV is the platform’s answer to live shopping. Since Pinterest is already focused on displaying merchandise that individuals may be interested in, adding live shopping experiences makes sense.
