Pinterest updates Ads Manager, rolls out Product Pins features ahead of holiday shopping

Pinterest announced Wednesday the first big refresh for its self-serve Ads Manager tool since its launch in 2016. The company also added dynamic pricing and stock information to Product Pins and launched two new shopping recommendation sections.

An updated Ads Manager. Pinterest advertisers will now see a step-by-step campaign set-up wizard within Ads Manager that lets them choose a business goal, select an audience, or select the Pins they want to promote in search results or the home feed. Ad placement options are also now available, allowing advertisers to select browse or search placements at the ad group level.

Advertisers will also be to schedule ads and have access to a new “pause campaign” tool to review Pins before they go live, as well as create new pins without having to exit campaign setup. Pinterest has integrated its Audience Insights tool into the Ads Manager to help advertisers better determine target audiences.

Pinterest has revamped its reporting dashboard as well, allowing advertisers to make campaign changes to multiple rows at once.

Amy Darwish, U.S. director of media operations for Resolution Media, noted the ability to duplicate campaigns and select several Pins at once as time savers with the update. “We’ll also be able to better govern how our ads are delivered through their frequency management capability, which is crucial for our clients, and we’re excited for upcoming features as well,” said Darvish.

More shoppable Product Pins. Pinterest has completely rebuilt its Product Pins system, adding dynamic pricing and stock information for hundreds of millions of Product Pins to make them more shoppable

More Product Pins will include the shopping bag icon that links directly to a retailer’s checkout page so users can purchase a product within just a few clicks of finding an item in their feed or search results.

Pinterest’s new Product Pins will be replacing the older Buyable Pin format and are rolling out globally across mobile and apps and Pinterest.com.

Fashion and home decor discovery. Pinterest is also launching a two new shopping recommendations sections to help users discover more fashion and home decor products below Style and Home Pins. These new sections will give fashion and home decor retailers and brands more reach on the app, placing their Product Pins in front of audiences interested in related products.

The shopping recommendations sections are only live in the U.S., but there are plans to roll it out globally in the future.

Pinterest also rolled out a new shopping shortcut on iOS devices in the U.S. that makes it possible for users to hold down on a Home or Style Pin with a shopping tag icon to launch the related shopping recommendation section.

Why it matters to ecommerce advertisers. Pinterest has been steadily building out its social commerce offerings this year, culminating with Wednesday’s news weeks ahead of the Black Friday kick off to the holiday shopping season. Pinterest says clicks on products to retail sites have increased 40 percent since it began testing its latest Product Pins.

The new Ads Manager features have been rolled out to all Pinterest Business profiles in English speaking markets.