Pinterest is slowly starting to prove its worth as an e-commerce platform thanks to a site update that sends users an email notification when one of their pins drops in price.
Product pins were rolled out in May this year, providing users with information about pricing and availability for the very first time. There was no way to effectively track when the price changed though, or when a product came back into stock – now, Pinterest will automatically alert users when it’s been discounted somewhere on the Web.
The feature is being rolled out very slowly to begin with, so users might not receive the email notifications for a little while yet. Pinterest is also yet to add any form of customization options – so users can’t track specific pins, boards or categories. Users either opt-in or opt-out from the settings menu, which feels a little restrictive.
“You don’t have to do anything to get notified,” Jeffrey Warren, a Software Engineering Intern at Pinterest said. “Just keep pinning the things you’re into, and leave the price watching to us. We’ll try to keep your inbox clutter-free by grouping these notifications into a single email, but you can always adjust your settings if you need to.”
It’s a notable update to the Pinterest platform, but clearly there’s room to expand it further. Mobile notifications are an obvious omission, but being able to set a custom alert for when a pin hits a specific price would also be huge.
Pinterest is often used as a visual wishlist for goods that they hope to buy or own in the future. Price tracking is a simple way of tieing the platform closer to an infinite number of e-commerce sites and also monetizing the service through product pins.
If it can become the go-to place for online shopping and product listings – and take a cut for finding new customers – Pinterest will have no problem maintaining its userbase and a steady revenue stream.
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