Pinterest expands AR makeup try-on feature

Pinterest has said that its augmented reality shopping feature now allows users to virtually try on eyeshadow from brands including YSL, Urban Decay, Lancome and NYX Cosmetics before buying. 

The feature initially launched in January 2020 with the ability to try on lipstick from brands including Estée Lauder, Sephora and bareMinerals using Pinterest’s AR Lens camera, with a direct link to check-out. 

Pinterest is expanding the feature to new cosmetics categories as consumers seek new ways to shop during the pandemic, said Aya Kanai, head of content and creator partnerships at Pinterest.  

“As consumers, we're no longer going into stores,” she said. “And, of course, [with the pandemic] we are frequenting stores much less often than normal.” 

Half of Pinterest users use the app to shop, over two times higher than the number of users on other platforms. 83% of weekly users have also made a purchase based on content they saw on Pinterest. 

The platform is one of several to enter into the world of social commerce, following Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Online sales have accelerated since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, growing $39 billion in the U.S. during December, according to Salesforce. 

Pinterest’s eyeshadow The try-on feature includes a range of skin tones and forgoes skin filtering or smoothing effects to create a realistic shopping experience. Users can select their skin tone and see other users wearing the product before trying it on themselves. Users can also find products on Story Pins, the platform’s new video story format, and be redirected to the brand’s page for checkout. 

“Our hope is to expand this AR try-on into multiple areas because e-commerce is not going to decelerate,” Kanai said. “We want to make sure that our customer experience is as safe and as realistic as possible.” 

The feature is now available to all brands in beta, following the company’s October announcement to make product tagging easier.

Pinterest has more than 442 million monthly active users.