Pinterest is rolling out a new feature that will alert users when the price of a pinned item gets a price drop. Regardless of whether the product gets a $1 price cut or sees $100 shaved off the top, pinners will receive an e-mail notification indicating the change.
Depending on how many items you have pinned on your virtual corkboard, that could translate into a lot of alerts for heavy users. Fret not, however, as the company doesn't plan to conduct an all-out assault on your inbox.
In a post on Pinterest's official blog, software engineering intern Jeffrey Warren said they will attempt to keep your box clutter-free by grouping notifications into a single e-mail. Alternately, if you'd rather receive individual notifications as to not waste any time when a new deal emerges, that can be arranged in your settings.
Pinterest is diving head-first into this e-commerce thing. Back in May, the social sharing site introduced a new feature that provides more details on products including pricing and locations for purchase. The service rolled out with a wealth of reputable vendors including eBay, Etsy, Home Depot, Modcloth, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Overstock, REI, Sephora, Sony, Target, Urban Outfitters and Wal-Mart.
As was the case with Pinterest's recent update that enables browser tracking for personalized pins, the company plans to roll out this new alert feature slowly as to not overwhelm their servers. Either way, I suspect Pinterest will ultimately look to profit by playing the middleman role between merchants and prospective customers.