Update to Pinterest makes shopping on the app a "snap"

Many smartphone owners can quickly recognize the stylized "P" that is the logo of Pinterest (or they think that it's the Philadelphia Phillies insignia), but they don't know what the heck the Pinterest app does. You can think of Pinterest as a bulletin board where certain original images (photos, videos, and GIFs) and those taken from the internet are pinned. Boards that you favor can be followed.

Can you actually make money on Pinterest? Companies can convert their entire catalog into shoppable pins and starting in April, Pinterest users noticed a "shop" tab when they used certain search terms (like "Office furniture" for example). Tapping on that tab brings up certain deals offered by merchants. Starting today, Pinterest has made it even easier for users to be hooked up with merchants thanks to a new discovery tool.

Thanks to an update, Pinterest users will see a camera icon in the search bar. Tap it and you can access your own camera roll or take a new picture. After processing the image, Pinterest gives you two options. Explore looks for similar pins based on your photo while Shop will scour Pinterest for items related to your photo that can be purchased from a Pinterest merchant. This might not always be the best way to find things, however. We took a photo of our Romoss power bank and it came back as a phone case.

If you hit the Shop tab and find an offer you like, tapping on it will again bring you to a fork in the road. Hit Save to, well, save the offer for another time. Tap on Shop to be taken directly to the checkout page.

Honestly, the process is quick and simple. You can install the Pinterest app for your iOS device from the App Store or download it for your Android device from the Google Play Store.