Pinterest's Effect on Consumer Spending

An article posted on ReadWriteWeb this week discussed Pinterest's influence on consumer purchases, especially compared to social media leader, Facebook.

Pinterest is a fairly new social media outlet that lets its users "organize all the beautiful things [they] find on the web", share it with their followers, and browse through other people's pinboards.

The direct effect this has on consumer spending is fairly obvious. By clicking on any picture that is "pinned", you are directed to the original website where you are able to purchase the product. Pinterest essentially enables its users to create a virtual wishlist of items and products they like.

Eighty percent of Pinterest's users are women ages 25-44. This demographic is becoming increasingly influential, especially in the economy. According to a statistic, women account for 85 percent of all consumer purchases. Because women are the main spending force in a household, websites like Pinterest enable their spending and make shopping from home even easier. 

Although Facebook has tried to break into the social commerce trend, they have not been nearly as successful as Pinterest. Facebook has already established itself as a solely social site, and that is all its users want and expect from the website. Anything else is considered clutter and is unappealing to users.

Consumers are not the only population who are directly affected by social commerce websites such as Pinterest. Retailers are finding that this is a cheap and effective way to reach their target market without putting in any effort. Nordstrom's social media manager Shauna Causey said, "We view [Pinterest] as another way to engage with customers rather than marketing. Images are a great way to share ideas and trends in the retail social media landscape." 

Although there is no way to tell yet if Pinterest is just a trend, I think the overall idea of social commerce through the Internet is here to stay. Technology has made everything easier and faster for the modern consumer. From sending a thank you letter to buying a car to browsing retail stores, consumers are turning to the Internet to make the errands in their life quicker and more efficient. By making these transactions easier on both the customer and the retailer, websites, such as Pinterest, are less of a trend and more of an online revolution.