Pinterest has continued its shift towards becoming a full eCommerce platform, with the addition of a new ‘Shop’ tab within its Lens visual search results, which will make it easier for users to find buyable items based on an image.

As explained by Pinterest:

“Just click the camera in the search bar, snap or upload a photo, and see a “Shop” tab with a feed of shoppable Pins based on the in-stock products we’ve identified in that image. Every Product Pin links directly to the checkout page on the retailer’s site.”

Users can either take a new photo, or upload a screenshot, or even an older image from your camera roll. Pinterest will then highlight relevant product matches, with the Shop tab showcasing items that you can purchase, then and there, helping to connect people with relevant products.

The process is essentially enabled through the expansion of Shoppable Pins, which Pinterest has been pushing to build upon with new systems like an improved Shopify integration option, making it easier for Shopify merchants to upload their entire product catalogs to the platform. That push has been further prompted by the increased eCommerce engagement that the platform’s been seeing during the COVID-19 lockdowns – according to Pinterest, engagement on shoppable Product Pins has increased by 44% since the global mitigation efforts began.

In some respects, Pinterest has replaced the shopping mall, providing a means to virtually browse and view products of interest – like Amazon, but more aligned to your specific interests.

And clearly, Lens searches already play a part in this process. Pinterest says that it’s seen a 3x increase in visual searches, year-on-year, with Pinners using the tool to find matching colors, products and items aligned with their style needs.

Specifically, Pinterest says that it’s seen significant growth in these categories:

• At-home beauty products (e.g. “press on nails”) have seen a 30% in search activity
• “Home office” searches are up 2.7x year-on-year
• Searches for “Backyard furniture” are 3x higher than last year
• And searches for “grocery shopping list” have doubled in April, compared to February.

Also, Pinterest says that searches for “sweatpants” have decreased 12% from February to April. Time to dress like a professional again you homebodies.

Functionally, the addition of a specific Shop tab in Lens searches doesn’t add a lot, as you could already find Shoppable Pins within your Lens results. But it again puts more focus on shopping specifically, which is clearly where Pinterest is seeking to add emphasis.

And that could be worth noting in your strategic approach.

You can read more about the new Lens Shop tab here.