As part of its ongoing effort to improve the utility of its product recommendation tools, Pinterest is expanding the availability of its skin tone matching options, while it’s also adding more brands into its AR Try-On program, giving users more ways to shop online.

As explained by Pinterest:

“Skin tone ranges (our inclusive beauty results search feature) is now available beyond the U.S.- in the UK, Canada, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand – and the design has been refreshed to surface options right from search results.”

Pinterest first rolled out its skin tone search option in the US in January last year after noting that almost 60% of the top 100 search terms for skin-related searches on the platform also included a tone. The capacity has made search results more personalized for each user, and now people in more regions will be able to access the same. 

“The quality of the technology has also improved, and the number of beauty and fashion Pins where a skin tone can be identified has quadrupled. Our skin tone signal is now 3x as likely to detect multiple skin tone ranges in top search results, compared to previous technology.”

The option is also an important part of Pinterest’s broader effort to maximize inclusion, and ensure that all users have options more aligned with their needs. 

The skin tone search qualifier is already highly used, and now, more people will have access to the tool (you can check it out for yourself here).

In addition to this, Pinterest is also expanding its AR Try-On program, with more brands signing on to take part in the new initiative.

“As of today, the virtual lipstick Try on experience is live with more than 10,000 shoppable shades discoverable across 48 million beauty Pins, with products from brands including newly added NARS, Cle de Peau, and Thrive Causemetics.”

Pinterest launched the initial stages of its AR Try-On offering back in January, with selected partners, and it’s now working to expand the option even further, based on positive initial response. 

“The easier it is to try on, the more people are likely to buy, as Pinners come to Pinterest early in their shopping journey. Since augmented reality technology launched in January, Pinners try on an average of six lipstick shades and are 5x more likely to show purchase intent on Try on-enabled Pins than standard Pins.”

These are the types of initiatives you can expect to see more of in eCommerce, as more people look to buy online, and technological advances provide ways to replicate the in-store shopping experience.

And definitely, people are doing more online shopping in 2020. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdowns, eCommerce activity has, logically, seen a significant jump, with many physical stores unable to open, and even people no longer under lockdown taking a cautious approach to heading outside. And while that boost will be temporary in some respects, it will also feed into broader behavioral change. eCommerce sales have been steadily rising over the last decade, and with more people now forced to try out the various online shopping options on offer, you can expect that many of them will come to rely on that process, exacerbating the shift.

Which is where Pinterest can win out. Earlier this month, the platform reported that it’s now serving 416 million monthly active users, up 39% year-on-year. These users are coming to the platform with shopping intent, and Pinterest is working to provide more tools to make as easy as possible for them to shop direct from Pins, becoming, essentially, an online mall of artisan products.

Given the trends, it’s worth paying attention to Pinterest, and these new additions will further its connective and interactive capacity.