Home > Articles > A Complete Review Of The Pinterest Shopify App

A Complete Review Of The Pinterest Shopify App

November 30, 2023
Written and researched by experts at AvadaLearn more about our methodology

By Sam Nguyen

CEO Avada Commerce

In this article, we will uncover the Pinterest Shopify App’s features and benefits and how it can boost your e-commerce success in our in-depth review.

Key Takeaways

  • The Pinterest Shopify App seamlessly integrates Shopify stores with the dynamic Pinterest platform, providing businesses with a user-friendly interface and robust features like automatic catalog updates and incentivized advertising.
  • The Pinterest Shopify App is a versatile solution for small businesses looking to enhance their visual presence and engage with Pinterest’s dynamic user base in niches like fashion and home decor, etc.

The Pinterest Shopify App Overview

The Pinterest Shopify App is a free-to-install app that enables Shopify merchants to promote their products on Pinterest. On this social media platform, users search for ideas and inspiration to try and buy. The app allows merchants to connect their Pinterest accounts, publish product pins, and automatically update their product catalog every day. It also provides detailed product data and conversion tracking with the Pinterest Tag.

The Pinterest Shopify App Overview

The app is particularly beneficial for small businesses, enhancing exposure and sales. Merchants highly recommend this app for its user-friendly interface, seamless Shopify integration, and detailed Pin analytics. They appreciate the easy management of Product Pins, free advertising credits, and positive ad experiences.

Once installed, Shopify merchants can upload their product catalog and update it in near real-time. The app allows merchants to organically surface their entire product catalog to Pinners and reach even more people with campaigns to build awareness, drive consideration, or get conversions – all from the Shopify dashboard management.

Pros and Cons

Pros: 

  • User-friendly interface for both beginners and advanced users.
  • Seamless integration with Shopify allows a quick setup and connection between your Shopify store and Pinterest account.
  • Detailed analytics on Pinterest performance, providing valuable insights into product visibility and customer engagement.
  • Upload and update your product catalog in near real-time, ensuring that your entire product range is organically surfaced to Pinterest users.
  • Merchants can create shoppable ads to promote their products on Pinterest, reaching a broader audience and potentially increasing sales.
  • Some users report receiving $100 in free advertising credit when launching their first ad campaign with Pinterest, incentivizing businesses to try out the platform.

Cons:

  • Approval challenges, particularly for new stores. Pinterest declined integration for stores less than 90 days old, causing delays and frustrations.
  • Unclear or inaccurate information on guidelines leads to confusion and difficulties in addressing the stated issues within the limited appeal attempts.
  • Some users expressed dissatisfaction with the support received during the integration process.
  • Businesses experience frustration due to extended waiting periods, sometimes up to nine months, only to find out they don’t meet the requirements.
  • Users are disappointed with the restricted number of appeals allowed, especially when faced with changing and unclear issues from Pinterest.

Who Is The Pinterest Shopify App Best For?

The Pinterest Shopify App is an ideal solution for a broad spectrum of online merchants seeking to enhance their product visibility and engage with a visually-driven audience. This app is particularly well-suited for:

  • Businesses with visually appealing products like fashion, home decor, and crafts
  • Merchants with a target audience align with the demographics of Pinterest users, which often include individuals seeking inspiration and ideas for shopping.
  • Shopify businesses who want to expand their reach to Pinterest.
  • Merchants looking to leverage social commerce and turn their Pinterest presence into a sales channel.
  • Businesses that appreciate detailed analytics to track the performance of their products on Pinterest.
  • Businesses interested in trying out Pinterest advertising.

The Pinterest Shopify App: Detailed Review

Pricing

The Pinterest Shopify App is free-to-install. However, additional charges may apply when businesses purchase ads on Pinterest through the Shopify integration.

The pricing for Pinterest ads is typically based on factors such as delivery and merchant budgets. All charges are billed in USD. You should review Pinterest’s advertising landing page for detailed information on ad pricing, budgeting options, and any potential additional costs associated with running ads on the Pinterest platform through the Shopify integration.

Features

The Pinterest Shopify App boasts many robust features designed to enhance the marketing capabilities of Shopify merchants. 

  • Product Pin

One key functionality is the seamless publishing of Product Pins directly from the Shopify admin interface to Pinterest. This streamlined process empowers merchants to showcase their products effortlessly within the visually-driven Pinterest platform. For instance, if you are running a clothing store, you can promptly feature its latest fashion items on Pinterest, capitalizing on its reputation as a hub for style and inspiration. Your target customers may find you on Pinterest and access your Shopify store.

Product Pin
  • Automatic catalog updates

A notable app feature is its automatic catalog updates, ensuring that the product catalog on Pinterest stays synchronized with the Shopify store in near real-time. This dynamic synchronization is particularly advantageous for merchants with frequently changing inventories. Imagine a tech gadget store that introduces new products regularly; with this feature, their Pinterest catalog remains current, providing users with the latest offerings.

  • Pinterest tag

The integration with the Pinterest tag is another noteworthy aspect of the app. By tracking detailed performance metrics, such as conversions and product data, merchants gain valuable insights into the effectiveness of their Pinterest marketing strategy. For example, an online home decor store can use this feature to understand which products resonate most with Pinterest users, enabling them to tailor their marketing approach accordingly.

  • Shoppable ads on Pinterest with $100 on your first ad campaign

Merchants can also leverage the app to create shoppable ads on Pinterest, capitalizing on the platform’s visual discovery nature. This feature enables users to engage directly with products and seamlessly make purchases. Consider a jewelry brand using shoppable ads to showcase their unique pieces on Pinterest, providing users a direct pathway from inspiration to purchase.

Shoppable ads on Pinterest with $100 on your first ad campaign

To incentivize merchants to explore Pinterest advertising, the app offers a $100 USD ad credit when launching the first-ever ad campaign on Pinterest. This financial incentive is a valuable kickstart for merchants seeking to maximize their platform advertising efforts. An example is a small business specializing in handmade crafts utilizing this credit to promote its products and expand its customer base.

  • User-friendly interface

The app’s simplicity is highlighted through its easy installation process, catering to both novice and experienced users. This user-friendly interface is within the familiar Shopify environment, allowing merchants to manage product pins, account settings, and ad creation efficiently. This seamless integration is exemplified by a startup e-commerce store swiftly connecting with Pinterest, even with limited technical expertise.

Moreover, the app ensures that the entire product catalog is organically surfaced to Pinterest users, enhancing discoverability. This feature opens opportunities for increased organic traffic and potential sales. For instance, an organic skincare brand can benefit from this exposure, reaching Pinterest users interested in sustainable and natural beauty products.

User-friendly interface

Ratings and Customer Reviews

The Pinterest App for Shopify has an overall rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars in 5708 reviews on the Shopify App Store. Merchants highly recommend this app for

  • The user-friendly interface, seamless Shopify integration, and detailed analytics.
  • Shoppable ads and $100 advertising credit receive positive mentions.
  • Support for multiple languages enhances global accessibility.
  • Automatic features and ease of use are highlighted for various business stages.
Ratings and Customer Reviews

However, some users also express concerns when using the app:

  • They struggle with the approval process, particularly for new stores.
  • Varied experiences with customer support.
  • Reports of long wait times and frustration over limited appeal attempts.

Integrate Pinterest App To Your Shopify Store

Why should you connect Pinterest to Shopify?

Connecting Pinterest to your Shopify store offers many benefits, making it a strategic move for businesses looking to enhance their online presence and reach a wider audience. Pinterest is a visual discovery platform where users actively seek inspiration, ideas, and products. By integrating Pinterest with Shopify, businesses can tap into this engaged user base, turning product discovery into purchases.

One significant advantage is the seamless integration, allowing for a quick and hassle-free setup. This connection ensures that your Shopify product catalog is automatically synchronized with your Pinterest account, keeping your listings up-to-date in real-time. This saves time and guarantees that your entire product range is organically exposed to millions of users on Pinterest, increasing your brand’s and product’s visibility.

Moreover, Pinterest serves as an influential platform for social commerce, and with the integration, businesses can create shoppable ads that appear in users’ feeds. This feature transforms Pinterest into a powerful sales channel, enabling users to discover, save, and purchase products directly through the platform. Businesses can capitalize on the visual nature of Pinterest to showcase their products compellingly, fostering engagement and conversion.

As an incentive, Pinterest often provides free advertising credits to Shopify users when launching their first ad campaign. This is a cost-effective way for businesses to explore Pinterest advertising, driving brand awareness and potentially boosting sales without an immediate financial commitment.

How to connect Pinterest to Shopify

The process of connecting Pinterest to Shopify is designed to be user-friendly and straightforward. 

To initiate the integration, install the Pinterest app from the Shopify App Store. Once installed, follow these steps:

How to connect Pinterest to Shopify
  • Go to the Shopify admin interface, navigate to the Apps section, and click on the Pinterest app.
  • Connect your account by logging in and authorizing Shopify to access your business account.
  • Allow the app to sync your Shopify product catalog with Pinterest. This ensures that your product listings are automatically updated on Pinterest, reflecting changes made in your Shopify store.
  • Explore the shoppable ads feature within the app to create engaging campaigns. This involves selecting products, adding creative visuals, and setting ad budget parameters.
  • Utilize the detailed analytics the app provides to track the performance of your Product Pins and ads. Monitor key metrics to gain insights into user engagement and conversions.

Pinterest Shopify App Alternatives

While the Pinterest Shopify App caters to Pinterest enthusiasts, alternatives like Meta’s Facebook & Instagram integration, Outfy’s automated social media content creation, CedCommerce’s TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram solution, and the TikTok and Snapchat Apps on Shopify, you can consider these apps to increase your marketing output.

Facebook & Instagram: 

Facebook and Instagram

Developed by Meta, this app seamlessly integrates Shopify stores with Facebook and Instagram. It allows merchants to manage orders, returns, and promotions in one place.

Key Features:

  • Sync eligible products to Facebook and Instagram shops.
  • Access shop insights, including top-performing products.
  • Set up conversion pixels for better ad performance.

Outfy ‑ Automate Social Media:

Outfy ‑ Automate Social Media

Outfy simplifies social media marketing by generating and sharing content on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Twitter.

Key Features:

  • Auto-generate reels, videos, shorts, and tweets.
  • Craft engaging content like product videos and gifs.
  • Automatically post content with AI-assisted scheduling.

CedCommerce Social Connector:

CedCommerce Social Connector

The CedCommerce Social Connector simplifies the social commerce journey on TikTok Shop, Facebook, and Instagram. It offers features like real-time product/order syncing and one-click pixel setup for Facebook.

Key Features:

  • Seamless setup and linking of Facebook Business and TikTok Shop accounts.
  • Maximize ROAS on Facebook with a single-click pixel setup.
  • Real-time product/order syncing between platforms.

TikTok:

TikTok

The TikTok App on Shopify enables businesses to create TikTok ad campaigns, sync product catalogs, and sell products through in-feed videos and LIVE broadcasts on TikTok Shop.

Key Features:

  • Build TikTok-style ads with uploaded product images or videos.
  • Install the TikTok Pixel for measuring ad performance.
  • Sell products directly through TikTok Shop.

Snapchat Ads:

Snapchat Ads

Snapchat Ads lets merchants create customized ads to reach Snapchat’s unique audience, including millennials and Gen Z. It offers features to sync catalogs, measure campaign effectiveness, and drive results.

Key Features:

  • Sync product catalogs to keep information up to date.
  • Create full-screen, engaging ads to inspire action.
  • Measure campaign effectiveness with metrics like return-on-ad-spend.

These alternatives cater to different social media platforms and business needs, providing you with options to enhance your social commerce efforts beyond Pinterest.

Bottom Line

In conclusion, the Pinterest Shopify App is a versatile and valuable tool for online merchants, offering seamless integration with Pinterest. Its user-friendly interface, automatic catalog updates, and advertising incentives make it an attractive option for businesses across various industries. If you are selling visually appealing products, such as fashion, home decor, and crafts, you should consider the Pinterest Shopify App as an intelligent option for your business’s social media approach.

FAQs

The Pinterest Shopify App is an integration that allows Shopify merchants to sell their products on Pinterest. It debuted in May 2020 to help e-commerce businesses navigate COVID-19.

The Pinterest Shopify App offers several benefits, including: 

  • Easy setup and integration with Shopify 
  • Automatic addition of Rich Pin and Conversion Tags to your site 
  • Simple creation, publishing, and management of Product Pins with the Pinterest App on Shopify 
  • $100 Shopify Pinterest Ad Credit when signing up (North America)

If your Pinterest Shopify App is not working as it should, you can try the following troubleshooting tips: 

  • Open your Shopify settings 
  • Click Sales Channel 
  • Locate Pinterest, then click Remove 
  • Click Reconnect Pinterest Account, and follow the instructions on the screen to restore the connection.

If you want to remove Pinterest from Shopify, you can follow these steps: 

  • Open your Shopify Admin Dashboard 
  • Click Settings on the bottom left corner of the screen 
  • Click Sales Channels 
  • Locate Pinterest, and click Remove
  • Confirm the removal by clicking Remove again.


Sam Nguyen is the CEO and founder of Avada Commerce, an e-commerce solution provider headquartered in Singapore. He is an expert on the Shopify e-commerce platform for online stores and retail point-of-sale systems. Sam loves talking about e-commerce and he aims to help over a million online businesses grow and thrive.