Pinterest Launches Verified Merchant Program With Applications Open to All
Pinterest is rolling out its new Verified Merchant Program, which comes with a blue checkmark and other perks.
Pinterest has always been a destination for shopping inspiration but now customers are shifting even more of their spending to online channels, the company says.
With people around the globe in self isolation and/or practicing social distancing, there’s currently a high degree of interest in areas like home, self-care, and kids activities.
How to get verified on Pinterest ?
How to Get verified badge?
Over the past two weeks there has been a significant increase in searches for keywords like:
- Home organization (up 43%)
- Spa day at home (up 19%)
- Makeup tutorial for beginners (up 180%)
- Kid-friendly recipes (up 64%)
In response to what Pinterest is calling an “unprecedented change in modern retail,” the company is investing in new shopping features.
“As we continue to invest in shopping and the success of retailers, we’re introducing new features to help retailers of all sizes get discovered, and distribute their products in the spaces where Pinners are most likely to shop…”
In addition to the launch of the Verified Merchant Program, Pinterest is also introducing new conversion metrics and dynamic retargeting.
Here’s more about everything that was announced today.
Verified Merchant Program
Pinterest is launching a new program for merchants that meet a particular set of criteria, which is verified through manual review.
Similar to being verified on other networks, a verified merchant on Pinterest will get to display a blue checkmark on their profiles.
There are some legitimately useful perks to being verified as well, such as early access to a new conversion insights tool that we’ll discuss later.
Verified Merchants will also get a special “Shop” tab at the top of their profiles, which puts all of their shoppable products in one place.
Products from verified merchants will also show up within dedicated shopping experiences like related products.
How to Become a Verified Merchant
Pinterest is first launching the program with a select number of retailers that have already been vetted.
Any merchant is eligible to apply, however, as long as they meet these three requirements:
Catalog is connected: Uploading a product feed is the fastest way to get products onto Pinterest.
Pinterest tag is installed on the website: A tag helps retailers track actions that come from Pinterest.
Meet Pinterest’s Merchant Guidelines: Found here
The Verified Merchant Program is only available to merchants in the United States at this time.
Later this year Pinterest will start accepting applications in other countries.
If you wish to join the Verified Merchant Program you can apply here.
Other Perks Of Being Verified
Additional perks of being a verified merchant on Pinterest include:
Conversion Insights: Gain early access to organic and paid conversion insights, which measures data such as site visits, checkouts, and sales over multiple attribution windows.
- Updates to catalogs: New metrics, near real-time feed ingestion, user experience enhancements, and feed ingestion scheduling.
- Dynamic retargeting: Advertisers can reach previously engaged customers by retargeting them with ads for exact or similar products they search and save on Pinterest.
FAQ
What is Pinterest’s Verified Merchant Program?
It’s a program with special perks for merchants that meet a particular set of criteria.
Who can become a verified merchant on Pinterest?
The Verified Merchant Program is currently only accepting applications from merchants in the United States.
How retailers can find success on Pinterest
We’re currently seeing an unprecedented change in modern retail, and e-commerce is becoming more important than ever. As consumers shift their spending to online channels, brands should inspire Pinners and create a shopping experience that feels more like “real life,” bringing a sense of normalcy and delight to challenging times.
People have always used Pinterest for shopping inspiration, and it’s been a priority of ours to surface the best products from retailers to people who are ready to shop at the right time. Because Pinners come to Pinterest in search of inspiration (and not necessarily with specific products in mind), and also welcome content from brands, our interests are aligned across the board.
As we continue to invest in shopping and the success of retailers, we’re introducing new features to help retailers of all sizes get discovered, and distribute their products in the spaces where Pinners are most likely to shop, including the launch of the Verified Merchant Program, new conversion reporting opportunities, and updates to Catalogs and dynamic retargeting.
Pinners are shoppers — looking for inspirational ideas especially in areas like home, self-care, and kids activities right now
Shoppers are turning to Pinterest as a key shopping destination: a place to get inspired and discover new ideas as a refreshing alternative to news and politics. They’re walking the virtual aisles of the platform, searching for visual ideas to help them create their new reality. In the past two weeks, we’ve seen increases in searches (compared to the prior two weeks) for topics like “home organization” (+43%), “spa day at home” (+19%), “makeup tutorial for beginners” (+180%), and “kid-friendly recipes” (+64%).
NEW! Introducing Verified Merchants, Conversion Insights & Catalogs updates
- Verified Merchant Program: We’ve launched the Verified Merchant Program with retailers like Quay Australia, Ruggable, Filson, Coyuchi and Lotuff Leather, who’ve met our qualifications for high quality customer service experiences through manual review. Verified Merchants will display a special blue checkmark on their profiles, and become eligible for increased distribution within high-intent shopping experiences and metrics like conversion reporting. Retailers interested in signing up for the program can learn more at pinterest.com/verified.
- Conversion Insights: Gain early access to organic and paid conversion insights so you can measure Pinterest’s impact on your site visits, checkouts and sales over multiple attribution windows.
- Catalogs updates: We’ve made significant updates to Catalogs that lessen the time from feed ingestion to Product Pin creation, plus we’re adding new metrics, near real-time feed ingestion, user experience enhancements, and feed ingestion scheduling.
- Dynamic retargeting: Advertisers in global markets can reach Pinners who have previously engaged with their brand online or who have unpurchased items in their cart by retargeting exact or similar products they search and save on Pinterest. We’re adding in more optimization levers to give advertisers more control.
Getting started
With a mix of existing and new features, we recommend retailers take the following approaches to reach shoppers on Pinterest:
- Become eligible for increased distribution and access to new measurement and analytics tools through our Verified Merchant Program.
- Upload all your products to Catalogs to generate Product Pins, which display price, availability and product descriptions, plus link directly to your ecommerce page.
- Use Shopping Ads to promote your products to reach more Pinners and optimize performance once you’ve set up your product groups within Catalogs.
- Take advantage of dynamic retargeting to reach Pinners who previously visited your site, but didn’t purchase, as they continue to browse home feed.
