Pinterest Introduces Augmented Reality Furniture Placement Tools to Make Home Decor Purchases Easier

With a new 'AR Try On for Home Décor' process, Pinterest is taking its augmented reality purchasing possibilities to another level, allowing users to digitally arrange furniture in their homes.

According to Pinterest:

“This is our latest step in bringing together the worlds of augmented reality and shopping on Pinterest as people seek more immersive online experiences that help them make purchase decisions from the comfort of their home. Try On for Home Decor makes it possible to envision home decor and furniture items in your home and “try before you buy” from premier launch partners.”

The approach makes use of Pinterest's continually expanding AR Lens technology to determine the virtual object's true dimensions and characteristics in order to create an accurate representation of how it will appear in our real - world environment.

“Try On features recognize objects in the real world and translate to online recommendations based on object recognition, in-stock products via catalogs, and the Pinner’s taste.”

Pinners can then tweak the product in the camera view to evaluate how it fits in their space and how well it matches their current decor.

It's the newest addition to Pinterest's virtual try-on capabilities, which now include make-up (lipstick and eyeshadow) as part of the platform's growing digital showcase choices for marketers. Snapchat, another AR leader, offers virtual try-on capabilities for eyeglasses and shoes, among other initiatives, which is likely where Pinterest will go with these new décor placement options, as well.

Furniture, on the other hand, is a popular topic on Pinterest. 90 percent of Pinners come to the site for research and inspiration in their home decor shopping trip, according to the company's own research, so the ability to preview how these goods would appear in their house before making a purchase may be a major deal for the app. Over 100 million people now shop with AR on a regular basis, with 60% of them admitting they frequently utilize the option to conclude purchase decisions.

Given the surge of online shopping during the pandemic, it's understandable that people are looking for new ways to validate their purchases, and accurate, realistic AR portrayals can be a wonderful way to get a clearer idea of a product before clicking 'Confirm.' The most difficult aspect of computerized furniture placement is precision. IKEA, for example, created its own augmented reality app in 2017 that served a similar purpose.

However, the findings were not always correct, and while the app can be a useful tool for gaining insights on furniture purchases, there is a danger in relying on what you see in the app in terms of sizing, true-to-life measurements, and so on. In this regard, Pinterest's variant should perhaps be more accurate, allowing users to receive a more consolidated, defined picture of what they're buying.

Because if Pinterest does it right, it might become an extremely significant instrument in the broader eCommerce revolution, helping to cement Pinterest as the go-to spot for online purchasing.