Let Pinterest Links go to the Actual Product Page

[Pixelan]

Idea

Please let Pinterest links go to the actual product page.

I've noticed that when people click on a pinterest image post that promotes a Zazzle product the link does not go to the actual product page but to sort of a landing page.

Example

This saved pin:

Goes to this page with many other designs and no "Add to cart" button:

Instead I would have expected it to go to the actual product page:

Reasons

• Going to the actual product after someone clicks the link avoids confusion.
• It's already a challenge to have people click the link. Now when they finally decide to click on it, it doesn't go to the product page but has to compete with other peoples designs first.
• We're promoting our own products on social media, as is recommended by Zazzle, not other peoples products.
• The customer has to do a 2nd click before arriving at the product they initial saw on social media, which increases the changes of them just closing the window before making an order.
• The customer already liked what they saw when they clicked on the Pinterest link but now the product we promoted has to instantly compete with many other products.

I know this has been mentioned before, but just wanted to share my opinion and experience. Zazzle is a great place for being creative as a designer, I like the designing for new products, the contests and the community and would love to stay here for many years. In my opinion this 'little' change could help creators. Thanks for reading.

[Photocrazy6]

Wholeheartedly agree with all of your reasons. If you sell any mugs the only way to share them is using an associate link and a collection with your items. If you click on a regular link to just the coffee mug it doesn't even show the product unless you scroll down (it shows you what you would see on the homepage.) Maybe it is their new way of forcing you to use and promote collections but my guess is those will eventually be redirected as well. Shady practice for those of us that have been having to go back and delete a bunch of links.

[SJoy]

When I shop online and click on a product image I am interested in, I expect the next page that pops up to be the item page with more details to see if the product matches what I am looking for.  If I am taken to a page other than the item page (especially if it has another button to click through to get to the item page) I automatically hit the back button because as an online shopper this is a red flag to me. This also goes along with redirects and sales funnels.  I suppose that is one reason why I like shopping on Amazon, takes me straight to what I am looking for. I have noticed Wayfair also does this landing page with a bunch other products where you have to click though to get to the actual product page.  I think it creates such a hassle in the "Shopping Experience" (not a fan and not a customer of theirs).  However, this topic has been discussed multiple times in the forum.  Even with good reasoning from designers behind why this so called "landing page" is not a good idea, I have yet to see any actual input or changes being discussed.   I am not a fan of it either.  Especially when customers are looking for "Shopping Experiences" now...I think this falls short of expectations.

[tanyadraws]

I agree that the links should go directly to the product page, especially as I've always heard that less clicks is more desirable for an e-commerce website to build a better user experience and lower bounce rates. Fast checkouts are becoming more prevalent, and you can even add a "buy now" to your products on google shopping feed, so they go directly to your checkout page. All of these features are geared towards making the buying process as easy as possible for a customer. Having the customer click through again to find the checkout button seems counterintuitive for an online store all things considered. 

[Pixelan]

Just want to add that I found this also happens when people click on product links on my blog and probably from other social media. Instead of the product page, which I linked to, another page with other peoples products shows up as shown in my first post.

[BevStuff]

It is because of this multiple landing page issue with Pinterest that I stopped using Pinterest links for promotion of any sort. I decided Pinterest is for Pinterest people who look thru Pinterest, but a lousy promotion tool for any place because you can't directly people directly to the product. I don't know if this is a PInterest thing they did or one Zazzle has any control over.

[Susang6]

I addressed this a while ago and Scott the moderator did comment saying why this is occurring.  I agree with you that the landing page where there are a whole lot of "other designers" products is risky as our customers may click another product link and not come back to buy the initial product.  It would be one thing if we got the referral but referrals are hit or miss...anyway here is the link to my discussion on this topic if you are interested 

[Pixelan]

Thanks for sharing the link @Susang6 ! It's good that many creators share this concern with Zazzle management. If we would earn a referral fee when a customer chooses a product from the 'landing page' than maybe that might be a good middle road for both creators and Zazzle.

[designsbydani]

Seems like the best strategy, if they're not going to get rid of this, is to use the 15% affiliate link instead of the 35%. That way we can at least earn something if they purchase from someone else.

[AthosVolzenArt]

Could not agree more!!! 

[Sea-Change]

My work involves content design, and most content designers for giant retailers that I know are reducing barriers and friction for the customer. They work hard to shave off fractions of seconds in loading and limit the number of clicks. I'm baffled that Zazzle Ux is trending in the opposite direction. 

I know there's a marketing cliche about putting a staple item that customers buy weekly (e.g., bananas) in the back of a physical store so the customer will browse and buy more as they go. This concept, if it ever truly applied, is outdated when applied to the modern web. Customers have so many options now to quickly buy custom items on the web. I'd hate to lose Zazzle customers to an overly complicated interface that focuses more on the upsell than the customer experience. If the customer turns away, then there's no sale at all.