Macy's, Lowe's, Kohl's shake up holiday shopping with Pinterest's Gift Globe

Dive Brief:

Retailers Macy's, Lowe's and Kohl's are using Pinterest Gift Globe experiences that focus on specific product categories to connect with holiday shoppers, according to a Pinterest blog post provided to sister publication Marketing Dive.
The brands are leveraging Promoted Videos at maximum width and Promoted Pins to drive shoppers to the Gift Globe experience. Shoppers use the Gift Globe by entering information about what they're shopping for to get personalized gift suggestions when they shake their phones. They can purchase one of the items with the press of a button.
Etsy and Brit + Co also partnered with Pinterest to create a Gift Finder, a virtual gift tag to help shoppers find the perfect gifts. Shoppers fill out a gift tag with information about what they're searching for, who they're shopping for and an adjective to describe the person to receive personalized recommendations that can be purchased on Etsy's site. Etsy used a combination of Promoted Pins and Promoted video to promote the experience.

Dive Insight:

The Gift Globe and Gift Finder features are helping Macy's, Lowe's, Kohl's and Etsy reach consumers with interactive and personalized holiday shopping experiences and reach Pinterest's more than 250 million users with gift suggestions that can be purchased easily while on-the-go. Holiday shoppers often turn to social media for gift ideas and inspiration, and 87% of users say Pinterest helps them find the right products to purchase around the holidays and 66% say it helps with last-minute gift ideas, according to the post.

The new formats take advantage of how consumers are increasingly using their mobile device for holiday shopping. Mobile e-commerce is expected to account for about half of holiday shopping this year, with 57% of consumers saying they will shop online for gifts using their computers and 42% will use mobile devices, according to Citi Retail Services. Fifty-five percent of millennials and 48% of Gen Xers plan to use mobile devices for holiday shopping. More than 80% of Pinterest users access the platform via a mobile device, so brands adverting on the platform will be able to get in front of consumers at key purchasing moments.

This year's holiday season is also expected to be more social than in past years. Of digital shoppers, 39% say they would use "buy buttons" and 25% plan to use shoppable photos on their smartphones, according to PwC research cited by eMarketer. Millennials and Gen Zers are more likely to use buy buttons, and 42% of millennials and 34% of Gen Z were planning to use shoppable photos during the holidays.

Pinterest has been unveiling new ad features as it works to attract advertisers and compete with other platforms, like Instagram and Snapchat. Pinterest recently debuted a new ad format, called Promoted Carousel, which lets advertisers use up to five images within one ad to tell stories on the platform. Brands, including Cheerios and Cover Girl, saw lifts in brand awareness after using the format. Pinterest also this month named its first CMO, Andrea Mallard, who previously served as Athleta's CMO, as the platform is growing and preparing for its initial public offering next year.