Article

Are Nordstrom and Pinterest made for each other?

Nordstrom is big on Pinterest, but will the social media site be big inside the chain's department stores?

July 25, 2013

The following is an excerpt from a recent conversation on RetailWire, reproduced here with kind permission.

Back in March, Nordstrom began placing Pinterest's "P" logo next to the most pinned products in two of its stores. More recently, Nordstrom expanded the test to 13 more stores around the country. It operates 248 in total.

"It's our fastest growing social channel," Colin Johnson, a spokesperson for the chain, told The Huffington Post. "So we wanted to integrate the feedback that we're getting from our Pinterest community."

Nordstrom has a big head start on its rivals on Pinterest. According to a Bloomberg Businessweek report, the department store chain has 4.5 million followers on the site. That compares to 47,000 for Macy's, 44,000 for Barneys and 4,000 for Dillard's.

Mr. Johnson told Businessweek that company executives use the site "to find out what's exciting for our customers — and what's inspiring them."

RetailWire BrainTrust comments:

Nordstrom shoppers are fashion oriented. Pinterest is presently in fashion and its user-curated content is largely about fashion. Not too surprising that they have found a connection.

I suspect the in-store labeling technique will have a brief, bright life cycle until it is displaced by the next wave of shopper diversion. Nothing wrong with that. Nordstrom has the wit and wherewithal to take advantage of this opportunity while it lasts. Few other retailers have done as well. — James Tenser, Principal, VSN Strategies

Someone at Nordstrom is a very astute student of digital and mobile trends and has initiated a smart in-the-moment use of a hot social channel. What is really great is that the Nordstrom culture allows for such initiatives to happen at all. Most retailing executives would still be asking, "What's Pinterest?"

Good on Nordstrom for nurturing innovation in an industry largely bereft of it! — Mike Osorio, Senior VP Learning & Development, Chief Learning Officer, DFS Group

Good for Nordstrom to be an early adopter of using Pinterest to showcase their merchandise. This is exactly what retailers should and will be doing with social media. It is very low cost exposure. The key is to make it more than just a catalog. What does the "customer" get from tracking Nordstrom's merchandise on Pinterest? If it is blatant marketing — just another form of a catalog — it may not work long term. There has to be a compelling reason for the customer to want to spend time on Pinterst looking at Nordstrom's pictures. — Shep Hyken, Chief Amazement Officer, Shepard Presentations, LLC

Pinterest isn't a tool for all retailers, but Nordstrom's use of Pinterest is a great way for customer engagement and to get people involved in the brand and their products. Nordstrom, like other retailers such as Lowe's with over 3.5 million followers, is able to have a vast following due to the use of paying attention to what customers want. The Pinterest "P" is just another way of recognizing what shoppers like and validating their ideas. Connecting pins with products actually seen in the store is a brilliant way to keep people invested. I wouldn't be surprised to see some marketing promotions around the "P." — Zel Bianco, President, founder and CEO, Interactive Edge