According to a report released today by Recode, sources say Pinterest is working on its own “Buy” button that could launch in as little as three to six months.
The button, which is said to start out as a limited test, would give users the ability to buy products discovered on Pinterest without ever leaving the network.
If this feature is indeed being released soon, as the report indicates, it certainly has the potential to turn Pinterest into something completely new. What was once a social network purely for discovering things would become a place where you could go to simultaneously discover new things and acquire them.
When reached out to for comment, a Pinterest spokeswoman did not confirm or deny that a Buy button is part of the company’s future plans. Instead she said: Part of our strategy to help people discover new things, save them, and do these things in real life has always been to make Pins more useful.”
It’s no surprise to see Pinterest join the fold at a time when Facebook and Twitter are both working on similar Buy buttons. Actually, due to the nature of the network, I’m surprised Pinterest wasn’t first to the table with it.
Pinterest wasn’t first, but a Buy button on that particular network sounds a lot more promising because people generally go there to discover new things they’d like to buy anyway.
Recode’s report indicates that orders placed on Pinterest would be fulfilled by third parties — it won’t be the company themselves who are stocking and shipping the items. If that’s the case it feels like Pinterest is shaping up more to become the next Etsy than the next Amazon.
A Buy button sounds like a natural move in the evolution of Pinterest, and one that would not feel out of place. I predict Pinterest is going to become notorious for impulse purchases in the near future.
