Shopify Merchants Posting Profits from Pinterest

Pinterest has quickly become the third most popular social network on the Web and, in doing so, the pinboarding social network has turned out to be a whole lot more than pretty photos and themed boards.

Instead, it has become a very valuable tool for ecommerce merchants.

A recent study reveals that referral traffic from Pinterest to ecommerce solutions provider Shopify stores is equal to the amount of traffic that comes from Twitter, and more than the amount that comes from Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn combined. 

And not only is more traffic coming from Pinterest than most other social networks, but the traffic is also more valuable. The study reveals that these consumers are 10 percent more likely to make a purchase compared to those who arrive from other social sites, and are also spending an average of $80 on their purchases - double the average order value of Facebook shoppers.

Merchants who are leveraging the social pinboarding site should also know that the study found that pins with prices receive 36 percent more likes than those without prices. 

And it's not too late for retailers to jump on the Pinterest bandwagon because the conversion rates for ecommerce sites are still growing. In fact, the number of Shopify orders generated from pins has more than quadrupled during the last six months - from 75 orders in September 2011 to 320 orders in April 2012.