Pinterest has launched an augmented reality (AR) feature that enables users to see what furniture looks like in their homes before they buy, the company announced Monday. Called “Try On for Home Decor,” the feature is already available for retailers such as Crate & Barrel, CB2, Walmart, West Elm and Wayfair.
Why we care. This is hardly the first time augmented reality has been used to bring more of the offline shopping experience online (see below), but it does increase Pinterest’s shoppable pins with “Try on” enabled from 14,000 beauty pins to 80,000 home decor pins, according to Engadget.
In addition, this capability is rolling out to a new product category with support from well-known retailers, which could be significant for Pinterest’s 444 million monthly active users (worldwide) as well as the brands looking to sell to them. If this feature strengthens Pinterest as a shopping platform, it’ll also strengthen it as an advertising channel as well.
AR-powered Try On expands product categories. Pinterest first introduced its Try On feature in January 2021 for beauty products, specifically eyeshadow and lipstick.
A month before that (December 2020), Google launched a similar feature in the mobile search results. Amazon also has a “View in your room” feature available on its mobile app for certain products as well.
How it works. Users browsing home decor products on Pinterest’s Android or iOS apps will see three dots in the top-right corner of “Try On enabled” Pins. Select the Pin and “Try in your space” to view the product using the camera lens.
Users can adjust and place the product to better help them visualize how it’ll look in-person. Users can also click the Pin to be taken to the checkout page of the retailer’s site.
Contributing authors are invited to create content for Search Engine Land and are chosen for their expertise and contribution to the search community. Our contributors work under the oversight of the editorial staff and contributions are checked for quality and relevance to our readers. The opinions they express are their own.
