Social platform Pinterest has launched a 'Shop' tab in its 'Lens' visual search results.
Enhancing the 'Lens search' function - whereby consumers snap a picture and can explore the results for related suggestions and products to buy - the new Shop function surfaces a feed of shoppable Pins based on the in-stock products identified in that image.
The pins then link directly to the checkout on the retailer's website.
Users can also use the function to upload screenshots or older photos in their camera roll to find similar products.
According to Pinterest, around half of the items snapped through Lens belong to the fashion or home decor category.
The top-shopped products with Lens are prints and artwork, shirts and tops, dresses, shoes, jackets, vases, mirrors, rugs, pants and throw pillows.
And usage of the Pinterest Lens is growing, with the platform reporting a 3x increase in the amount of visual searches using the Pinterest camera compared to last year.
Pinterest said that COVID-19 has seen an interesting mix of products being searched through the Lens.
"In the past few months, there have been increasing searches on Pinterest for at-home beauty products such as press on nails (+30%), while searches related to sweatpants have decreased 12% from February to April.
"Meanwhile, “home office” searches are the highest they’ve ever been, growing 2.7x from February to April.
"Heading outside, searches for “backyard furniture” spike every spring, but there have been record highs for these searches this May, 3x greater than last year.
"And, as Pinners make every grocery store trip count during COVID, there have been record highs in searches for “grocery shopping list”, which have doubled this April compared to February," the platform said.
Pinterest added that it has enhanced the way retailers can engage with users on the platform.
"As shopping looks a bit different these days, we’re helping retailers of all sizes bring their products to Pinterest and give shoppers the ability to discover something wonderful and unexpected from trusted merchants.
"To expand offerings to small businesses, we recently launched a partnership with Shopify that makes uploading catalogues to Pinterest easier than ever.
"We also just announced a new way to shop curated picks from influencers and publishers with shopping spotlights," Pinterest said.
