IRL Pinterest pins let shoppers add to their board online

The Pinlist app links virtual mood boards with real-world pins that shoppers can push to post items online.

A number of new tech in retail are making in-store shopping more social and sharable online. We have seen a clothing rail that shows social media likes, and now, Pinlist, Pinterest’s collaboration with Brazil’s largest furniture design store Tok&Stok is connecting offline wish lists with online accounts.

Anytime shoppers see something they like, they can save the item to their online Pinterest boards with the physical push of a giant pin in the store. The connected pins are wireless and require nothing more from users than to download the Pinlist app to their phone. The pins use Bluetooth and a proximity sensor to communicate with the shopper’s app, even when a phone is on stand-by in a bag or pocket. The Pinlist app then automatically syncs with each users’ Pinterest account.

Are there other spaces that could use a real-world version of a virtual item?