But Pinterest’s new augmented reality feature, Try On for Home Decor, is here to make choosing the right furniture for your home even easier. Launched on January 31, it allows users to envision decor and furniture in a space before purchasing. We spoke to Pinterest’s Home & Design Lead, Jeremy Jankowski, to learn more about it.
Try Before You Buy
Pinterest first began to explore the world of AR in 2020 with the launch of their Try On feature for beauty, which allowed users to “try on” lipstick and eyeshadow. With the launch of Try On for Home, they’re expanding into furniture, with users able to try out furniture from brands like Crate & Barrel, CB2, Walmart, West Elm, and Wayfair, with more brands to come in the future. Using Pinterest’s Lens technology, users can select a piece of furniture they’re interested in, and it gets overlaid onto the camera preview on your phone, effectively showing you how it looks in your space. It can help you see the scale of the piece of furniture, how the color looks next to the rest of your decor, test out different placements for the furniture, and see whether the style is in line with your aesthetic. “Pinterest overall is moving towards a space where we want to ensure that people shopping on our site are shopping in the best possible way and making the most sound decisions,” says Jankowski. Rather than jumping into an impulsive decision to buy a piece of furniture, Pinterest hopes to help people spend their money more wisely and buy items they won’t end up replacing in a few months. And as Jankowski notes, this is especially important to consumers who are increasingly concerned about the environment and making smarter purchasing decisions that will lead to less waste and a lower carbon footprint.
Inspiring New Ideas
Beyond buying a new piece of furniture or home decor item, Try On for Home Decor can also inspire new home projects. “Pinterest really is the number one destination for home and design inspiration. Nine out of 10 Pinners come to the platform, they’re looking for research and inspiration in their home decor shopping journey,” says Jankowski. “We really do believe that shopping is about more than searching for a singular product. It’s about inspiring new ideas and sparking new projects.” In fact, when testing the new AR product, users found it useful as a way of discovering products they hadn’t considered for their space or helped them see more affordable options and suggestions. Jankowski also notes that the feature is intuitive and easy to use, so Pinners don’t need to be tech-savvy to take advantage of it. Try On for Home Decor is available now on Pinterest.
