Pinterest Statistics for Marketing: 23 Stats You Better Know in 2024

Pinterest is a mysterious place if you’re not active on it. However, once you realize that it is more of a search engine and a site and product discovery platform rather than just another one of those social media platforms, all of the Pinterest statistics for marketing that I will go over below will begin to make some sense.

Before the Pinterest statistics, however, let me ask you:

When was the last time you ran a Google Images search and saw those iconic “P” logos everywhere? If you’re like me, it happens all the time. Pinterest is a fairly recent addition to the social media roster, and yet it seems like the site is everywhere. In fact, Pinterest boards get “posted” by Google all the time.

Like Instagram, Pinterest is made up mostly of pictures. However, unlike Instagram, Pinterest is intended for people who want to plan that dream wedding, or find awesome places for summer vacation, or make the cutest holiday crafts. Instead of bragging about what they have, Pinterest users get their heads together and inspire each other, making it a powerful marketing tool.

This focus on the future is one of the reasons that marketers increasingly are finding Pinterest a great place to advertise their goods and services. Our helpful list of Pinterest statistics for marketing should help you determine what, if any, marketing revenue you should devote to the platform. First, we’ll look at the typical Pinterest user demographics, and then at the effectiveness of advertising here.

What do Pinterest statistics say about its users?

Pinterest is, by all accounts, a relatively small social network (with a big marketing impact). Founded in 2009, the network is noted for its browser extension and mobile apps. It’s also kind of quirky, in that most communication on Pinterest is through pictures pasted on “boards.” No “status updates,” unlike most social media platforms. So, who are Pinterest’s active users?

Although giants like Facebook and YouTube consistently rank in the top three, Pinterest does not trail too far behind in its active users, landing at 14th place, just behind social platforms like Snapchat, and ahead of platforms like Twitter and Reddit. While 14th might not look like a high number initially, considering its reach and the dramatic differences in available target audiences, it is a smart platform to include in your social marketing strategy. As the statistics below can attest, there is a sizable market to be found in utilizing Pinterest for marketing, and social media users on this platform are often browsing for specific needs or wants, versus blindly scrolling.

2. There are 433 million monthly users today

You would think that a 14th rank in popularity would mean that Pinterest is too small for our attention. Admittedly, the number of monthly users is much smaller than its competition. That being said, as Pinterest themselves say, their user base surpasses the USA as the 3rd largest in the world, so it is still a HUGE number!

3. Among American women connected to the internet, 41% use Pinterest.

One of the things I like about this statistic is that it only concerns itself with people who stand to benefit from content marketing: the Internet connected. It’s also interesting to note how the result is concerned with females.

In fact, it is estimated that

4. 76.7% of Pinterest users are female.

If you are targeting a female demographic, Pinterest is where you want to be. That being said,

5. Male pinners are increasing by 40% a year

Between 2019 and 2020, male pinners increased 40%. This is a staggering statistic and shows a significant jump in a massive demographic–a jump that should be on the radar of anyone targeting internet users in their marketing efforts. Pinterest has traditionally been treated as a visual search engine for women, with primarily female-centered content, but as the reach of Pinterest has increased, the value of it as a marketing tool for a target audience of both male and female users has increased. Sex-based user growth is only one of the significant changes that has been identified in Pinterest’s audience and user base.

6. 29% of all American adults are on Pinterest.

Nearly one third of all American adults use the Pinterest app or website, whether it serves as a platform for inspiration, a platform from which to advertise their own blogs or sites, or something else entirely. This is a truly massive audience size, given the size of North America. The strength of Pinterest purchase decisions and the size of referral traffic coming into Pinterest both make this number a rather significant one, and should serve as a powerful reminder that Pinterest deserves a space in your social media strategy.

7. 38% of Americans with at least a college education use Pinterest.

By contrast, the same Sprout study tells us that only 22% of non-college graduates use the platform. What this tells us is that Pinterest users tend to be better educated, as a whole, than the general population, making Pinterest a great place to launch a social media marketing campaign.

8. 8 in 10 users say Pinterest gives them a positive feeling

As if the gender demographics mentioned above were not compelling enough, Pinterest is continually associated with positive feelings. This flies in the face of the negative feelings often felt by audiences in general–and female audiences in particular–on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram. While Pinterest users are typically millennial women and other female age groups, an increasing number of audience members are men, and the positive association continues, even with a growing audience. This can be leveraged to the benefit of marketers, as it means that people may be less likely to be overwhelmed by or frustrated with the feelings derived from the platform, and may not need to schedule as many breaks from browsing.

While positivity is not gender-specific, the bottom line is that, by and large, the biggest demographic numbers among Pinterest users are well-educated women. That’s not to say that the guys don’t matter, as Pinterest use among men is on the rise. But for now, the biggest potential exposure from Pinterest advertising can be had by brands marketing to women.

This seems like an unusual observation at first, but hear me out. Originally, the platform as a whole was an ideas board, and it still is. However, it’s the type of ideas that make this such an excellent destination for those who are looking to buy goods and services. For example, a vacation ideas board might assemble ideas for the cutest bed and breakfast in some out-of-the-way location. Or, a wedding ideas board might seek the “perfect” place to hold that awesome reception the bride and groom have been dreaming about.

Here are some statistics that bear out my assertion:

9. Among female “pinners,” 85% are planning a life event.

It’s no surprise that weddings are one of the life events that women love to plan on Pinterest. Making your own reception party favors and table decorations is all the rage as millennials seek to save money on the wedding. Of course, there’s nothing keeping the guys from planning a bachelor party, either. Other events include children’s birthday parties, vacations, and even birth announcements. Each of these life events involve spending money on products and services, providing marketers with an ideal advertising audience.

10. 70% of Pinterest users are looking for accessories.

Accessories, in the definition of this statistic, includes not only belts or scarves, but jewelry and watches as well. So, Pinterest users hope to purchase something nice to wear on a regular basis. This makes Pinterest marketing a potential gold mine for fashion companies, both male and female-oriented. And, it’s a great way to help shoppers select the “right” item for their needs: there’s nothing like not only seeing pictures of something, but also getting ideas of how it can be combined with other wardrobe items. That’s especially true when hoping to dress up a plain black dress or that fine Italian suit.

11. 84% of users consult the site when making purchasing decisions.

That’s even more than the number of people who read online reviews of a product when trying to decide if they’ll buy it. Again, I think the reason is no secret: knowing how something can be used is helpful in figuring out whether or not to buy it. Another reason for this figure is somewhat subject-specific. Craft materials are a popular topic on Pinterest. If you’re looking to make something special, you might want to use Pinterest to try and find the perfect pattern or craft tips. These patterns will often list materials, which would then be purchased by a pinner hoping to make the item–something your marketing budget really should not ignore.

12. 85% of Pinners use Pinterest to plan new projects

Although it is difficult to know exactly when planning moved from paper and magazines to the internet, Pinterest is a frequent go-to in order to plan new projects. The COVID-19 pandemic may have contributed to this upswing, as well as the inclusion of mobile devices, but as projects have increasingly moved from tangible items to online planning platforms, Pinterest has continued to have a huge impact on users in effectively planning everything from house projects to seasonal crafts. What does this mean for the millions of users utilizing Pinterest? User types from all backgrounds consider Pinterest a go-to platform for developing important projects and planning upcoming changes to homes, lessons, crafts, and more.

Pinterest users love finding cool stuff.

No, really. They do! Think about it this way: if you’re planning some sort of project, and looking for materials, don’t you thumb through some type of catalog? Whether it’s buttons or car parts, you have to find out what’s available somehow. That’s why you need a presence on Pinterest: your search query can reach a very clear and specific audience.

13. 97% of idea searches on Pinterest don’t specify brand.

What I see in this statistic is that people aren’t necessarily looking for specific product content from brands on Pinterest when they start looking for things. Instead, they’re open to finding what other users have posted to their boards, and then discovering how they were put together. As marketers, we have a huge opportunity here: Pinterest users have an open mind, just waiting for us to give them the right branded idea to meet their goals.

14. 78% of users find branded content useful.

In some contexts, advertisements and other branded material can seem spammy or out of place. But when users are hoping to find the next great thing, branded content for your online mood board is perfect. Even better, some of it can be really organic. Why suggest ham with a spread of apricot jam for an appetizer, when you can add your own brand of jam and make a potential sale? Everyone knows that not all apricot jam tastes the same, or has the same texture. Therefore, recommending “your” jam is a great way to try and suggest it is superior for that particular recipe.

15. 60% of users log on to “view pictures.”

Viewing pictures, of course, gives users ideas, but one of the great things about “viewing pictures” is that it gives opportunities for a soft sell. Not the in-your-face of regular advertisements or the flashy special effects of that Instagram photo, but the quiet incorporation of your products into something bigger. A picture where the viewer doesn’t have to guess “where’d she get that?” is great, because it means that internet traffic is able to quickly and easily find sources.

16. 55% of users are looking for products.

Sometimes it doesn’t matter what kind of product they’re looking for, but only that they’re looking for products. It might not be so much the type of glue that holds a basket together that a potential customer is looking for, so much as ideas on what to put IN the basket. Glue is boring (just read the label), while contents are interesting. Or, they’re hoping to find a bunch of products on a certain theme for that special event. This is where boards are so handy: One user can find associated items on someone else’s board and combine them in unexpected ways. Put your brand and products out there, and someone will find it useful enough to buy.

17. Close to one billion videos a day are watched on Pinterest.

In a slight drop from the number of videos watched every day on YouTube, Pinterest boasts nearly 1 billion video views every day. Pinterest might not be seen as a dedicated video hosting platform, but nevertheless shows international user growth, and growth in the male market (rather than being primarily a female platform), perhaps in part due to the popular platform showing videos and video clips like its contemporaries, including Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Video marketing remains one of the most thoroughly consumed and widely desired marketing formats, making the use of Pinterest as a video platform an excellent way to combine the benefits of Pinterest itself and video marketing overall.

Pinterest statistics show that its users have follow-through

There’s no question that users of any social network are going to dream about cool things that will never happen, or that won’t happen for a long time. Little girls dream of their weddings even before puberty, and little boys think about what they want to be when they grow up…starting at age five. While there certainly are pinners who will dream about that “life event” for a long time before they happen, most of the time they’re hoping to act soon.

18. 87% of Pinterest users have purchased something they discovered there.

Just by itself, this statistic alone marks Pinterest as an important selling tool for the right markets. After all, being on the platform gives a product or brand a great chance of being both discovered and purchased. Flipping through catalogs once gave a lot of people ideas and opportunities to discover new brands. Now, Pinterest is becoming one of the new venues of product discovery.

19. 93% of users are planning future purchases on Pinterest

Any time you are trying to get ideas within your hobby, there is the potential for making a purchase. For sure, there are times when using up bits and pieces of something you already own is the main goal. But even in these situations, marketers have the opportunity to offer something that might help bring a project together. In another example, let’s look at the party. In addition to making their own party favors, pinners might need to buy balloons, table cloths, party rentals, DJ services, and all kinds of other products or services. A great thing about Pinterest is that pinners are planning ahead to ensure that everything is perfect before they buy.

20. 98% of pinners tried something because they discovered it on Pinterest

I think that’s largely because people go on Pinterest looking for ideas. It isn’t just products: recipes are posted everywhere, for example. Other pinners might enjoy a board post about how to fix something. Just remember that Pinterest content is largely visual, and mostly short-form. Videos are up and coming, however.

Pinterest statistics show that Pinterest marketing works

With all the “organic” sales happening through Pinterest, it might make you wonder if it’s worth doing Pinterest-specific marketing. I believe that for many brands Pinterest is a potentially lucrative place to advertise.

Why?

21. 61% of Pinterest users have purchased something in response to a sponsored pin.

That’s more than half, and an especially powerful statistic considering that Pinterest users often go on the site when they aren’t looking to buy immediately. Sometimes they’re just browsing! And yet, sponsored pins are turning out to be a great way to sell.

22. Pinterest refers 33% more traffic to e-commerce sites than Facebook.

When you think about it, this statistic is absolutely staggering. After all, Pinterest has fewer than half a billion active users, while Facebook has two billion or more. Although to be honest, people don’t normally log on to Facebook for the purpose of shopping or getting hobby project ideas. Whatever the reason, using Pinterest to intentionally drive traffic to your site is smart business.

And finally, the best for last:

23. Every $1 spent on Pinterest marketing grosses around $4.30 in sales.

That’s literally double your money, when profit is taken into account. Overall, these statistics show that Pinterest marketing has a great return on investment.

The best part? In my opinion, it’s the fact that Pinterest users tend to be in a buying mood when they browse the site. Or at least, they want to indulge their hobby a little bit. For these reasons, they are a bit more open to new ideas and new products. What’s not to love?

Will these Pinterest statistics inspire you to action?

Has your company found success with Pinterest marketing? Which of these Pinterest statistics was most important to you? Feel free to chime in below!

And if you’re looking for some Pinterest advice above and beyond these Pinterest statistics, make sure you check out these Pinterest-related articles of ours:

Finally check out my video on helping you leverage Pinterest for business as well!

Photo by KOBU Agency on Unsplash

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