Pinterest has rolled out a ‘Skin Tone’ feature to 13+ countries – France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Netherlands, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Colombia. The ‘Skin Tone’ feature – which delivers customized skin-tone search results to users who search for beauty-related content – is extremely popular, with a “5x increase” in use in the last year alone.
The “Skin Tone’ feature was first launched in 2019 after a study revealed that “nearly 60% of the top 100 search terms for skin-related searches involved a tone”. Since then, the feature – which aims to provide a more inclusive and personalized experience – has become a huge hit on Pinterest: after introducing this new tool, Pinterest saw that search results for ‘alternative makeup’, ‘cool hair color ideas’, and ‘eyeliner styles’ increased by 5x, 4x, and 3.5x respectively, with users becoming more curious about what styles suited their skin tone.
If you are interested in learning how the feature works – Pinterest posted a simple, How-To video about the ‘Skin Tone’ search tool on their Instagram during its initial launch.
The expansion of the skin-tone feature to new countries is Pinterest’s latest attempt to build a more inclusive platform: in fall 2020, Pinterest expanded its augmented reality (AR) platform through the introduction of a new ‘Try On’ feature – which helps users match lipstick and eyeshadow shades to their skin tone.
Pinterest’s ‘Skin Tone’ and ‘Try On’ features are perfect examples of how the social media platform is adapting to evolving consumer trends: with users wanting brands to provide more inclusive experiences now more than ever – Pinterest has found ways to adapt this insight into their product strategy.