Pinterest wants to turn more users into buyers with Pinterest TV — a series of live, shoppable episodes featuring top creators.
With Pinterest TV, creators can showcase and tag products to let users purchase them on the retailer’s site. Episodes air each weekday and will be recorded and available for users to watch on-demand. Beginning Nov. 8, episodes will air Monday-Friday at 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. ET in the U.S. on the iOS version of the Pinterest app.
To view Pinterest TV episodes, users can click the TV icon in the upper left corner of the Pinterest app. In the livestreamed episodes, viewers can interact with hosts and ask questions via chat. And each Friday, products will drop in a live shopping setting where Pinterest users will be offered discounts from brands including Patagonia, All Birds, Crown Affair, Melody Ehsani, Outdoor Voices and Mented.
Pinterest isn’t disclosing specifics on revenue-sharing deals for Pinterest TV at this stage. According to a company rep, each show and partnership has its own structure. The image-sharing site recently rolled out several new ways for creators to monetize on Pinterest, including by earning commissions through affiliate links on Pins and by teaming with brands on sponsored content.
Creators on the platform who are among the first to launch shows on Pinterest TV include fashion designer and “Project Runway” alum Christian Siriano; director and screenwriter Monica Suriyage, who will be joined by Pinterest food creators to show how to “unfail” holiday dishes; Tom Daley, Olympic diving gold medalist and knitting fanatic; beauty entrepreneur Manny Mua; and comedian Robyn Schall, who will showcase products from brands including Patagonia, Melody Ehsani and Crown Affair.
Pinterest hosts who are part of Pinterest TV will have tools to enable live shopping experiences, including a “product drawer” with prices and product details, product drops and brand collaborations, a display of how much inventory is left and a “limited-time-offer” module to offer discounts.
The new feature expands on Pinterest’s ecommerce efforts to date. In 2015, it launched Buyable Pins, which were its first shopping ad product. In 2018, Pinterest shifted to Product Pins, which drives users from a post directly to a retailer’s checkout page.
According to research firm eMarketer, the number of U.S. social buyers on Pinterest grew 30.5% in 2020, for a total of 12 million. By the end of 2021, that will grow another 16.4% to reach 13.9 million, the researcher estimates.
Alongside 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.
Separately, last week Malik Ducard, VP of content partnerships at YouTube, left to join Pinterest as its chief content officer, tasked with driving the company’s push to tap into the creator economy.