Tote co-founder and CEO Mike Bidgoli will work as a Pinterest product manager and co-founder Langtian Lang as a software engineer.

Pinterest is seeking to boost its e-commerce expertise by acquiring the team behind the mobile commerce app tote. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Tote, launched in 2014, let consumers browse and purchase products suggested by so-called fashion influencers and their friends directly within the app.

Pinterest will shutter tote and allow the app’s users to migrate their accounts to Pinterest.

The tote team will work on the social network’s “growth and monetization” efforts, says a spokeswoman, with tote co-founder and CEO Mike Bidgoli working as a Pinterest product manager and co-founder Langtian Lang as a software engineer.

The move aims to bolster Pinterest’s understanding of how influencers help drive e-commerce sales, says Nipoon Malhotra, the social network’s ads product lead.

advertisement

“Pinterest helps people discover products that match their tastes, oftentimes based on content from influencers and businesses,” he says. “We welcome the tote team’s deep expertise in commerce and influencer marketing as we continue our focus on connecting people to products they love.”

The move comes a little more than a week after Pinterest rolled out a number of ad targeting options that are similar to those offered by other social networks.

 

Favorite

advertisement