Dive Brief:

• Pinterest has launched a rollout of new, buyable pins on its iPhone and iPad app in the United States. 
• More than 30 million products will be available for instant purchase on Pinterest in the next few weeks from retail partners such as Macy’s and Nordstrom. 
• Buyable pins will be available on the Android app soon, the company says. 

Dive Insight:

Pinterest, like many other social media networks, is monetizing fast, releasing an update to its app for iPhones and iPads that features a new, buyable pin. A blue “Buy it” button will soon appear next to the “Pin It” button on more than 30 million products available for sale on the app’s bulletin boards.

While some onlookers see these new social buy buttons as a threat to traditional retail, including a direct link to buy on retailers' social media channels will help create a more simplified path-to-purchase: a key factor in online conversion.  

And the stats on Pinterest should give retailers confidence on its ability as a shopping platform: according to Millward Brown, around 93% of active Pinterest users use Pinterest to plan for purchases, while 87% say they've bought something due to Pinterest. This user base is predicted to reach 47.1 million people in 2015, up 11.4% from last year. 

Initial retail partners on buyable pins include Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, and Nordstrom, as well as smaller retailers linked to the Demandware (like Michaels) and Shopify (like SOBU) platforms. Shoppers can sort buyable pins to find all available from a specific store, shop Pinterest’s curated picks or see the latest buyable pins.