The expansion of Pinterest’s user base (MAU) and advertising income is happening at the fastest rate since 2021, indicating a strong commercial momentum for the site.
WARC Media projects that Pinterest’s advertising revenue will reach $3.6 billion in 2024 (an increase of 17.3% year over year) and will continue to grow at that rate in 2025, with a projected total of $4.2 billion in revenue the following year.
In Q1 2024, Pinterest’s MAU topped half a billion users for the first time, with 518 million users as of this writing.
“For so long, Pinterest has been known for upper funnel discovery, where users look for inspiration. However, Pinterest has an audience with high commercial intent. Its advancements in shoppability and AI – alongside a focus on fulfilling users’ ‘multi-session journeys’ – has started to reap rewards, with moves into the performance space attracting additional investment. Among advertisers, trust in Pinterest’s sustainable growth and understanding of its competitive positioning are rising,” Celeste Huang of WARC, the report’s author, states.
This most recent Platform Insights study from WARC Media provides evidence-based insights on the difficulties and possibilities Pinterest presents. It also provides an overview of the crucial information that advertisers need to know about the platform, covering investment, consumption, and performance.
On investment, it is anticipated that Pinterest would earn $3.58 billion in 2024 and $4.2 billion in 2025 from advertising. Alongside Reddit and Snapchat, Pinterest is sometimes cited as a “smaller” network that differs from internet behemoths like Meta and TikTok. Still, Pinterest is expected to continue growing rapidly throughout the second half of 2024. The platform has honed its position in the very competitive social media market by employing sophisticated ad formats to target users with high purchase intent and effectively facilitating upper-funnel discovery.
According to WARC Media, Pinterest will generate $3.6 billion in worldwide advertising income this year, up 17.3% from the previous year, and $4.2 billion in 2025, up 17.1%.
The growth rate of Pinterest’s lower-funnel revenue “nearly doubled” from Q4 2023. Its monetization approach is similar to that of its digital competitors: it makes use of novel products and formats to enhance user engagement and raise ad load and impression.
Continuing, the digital platform shows that Pinterest’s growth is greatest in the lower funnel among the “largest, most sophisticated advertisers,” primarily in the US. These companies typically “adopt new ad tools faster.” The fastest-growing categories in the US are emerging ones like technology, and according to WARC Media, retail will spend $575 million on Pinterest internationally by 2025.
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Now comprising 40% of Pinners, Gen Z is Pinterest’s largest and fastest-growing cohort. Pinterest was used more last year than Instagram in the US, UK, Australia, and France, according to Qustodio’s research on kids and teens using social media. Younger users use Pinterest mostly for planning and shopping, and they adopt new content types like collages quickly.
The site is well-known for helping users find new brands and products to inspire them to create. Pinners welcome suggestions: 96% of Pinterest’s most popular searches are not branded. For the purpose of improving performance and customers’ “inspiration to action” journey, it is now honing its content and shopping strategy.
Pinterest wants to present itself as a “more positive alternative” to other digital spaces because 55% of users view it as a “place to shop.” This is especially important when social media platforms that emphasise entertainment and personal connection are shifting to messaging applications.
For these objectives, new formats like collages are essential: Collage pins are three times more likely to be saved on Pinterest than pins in other forms, and they are shoppable. About 70% of Generation Z produces collages. In order to provide Pinterest’s AI with more individualised ad serving, this helps provide human curation signals.
In terms of performance, Pinterest’s revenue contribution is understated by attribution models According to research by Fospha, Last Click barely accounts for 1.3% of Pinterest’s revenue contribution, significantly undervaluing the platform’s influence. According to the report, brands that are most optimised for Pinterest allocate 23% of their money into awareness and consideration, and implement an always-on approach.
According to data from Nest Commerce, Pinterest’s cost-per-acquisition has decreased by 60% year over year, and its conversion rate is still rising. Using interest targets and keywords is essential for lower-funnel performance.
Data provided by Pinterest shows advertisers may expect up to 96% more traffic and a 28% boost in conversions. Multi-format campaigns are crucial in this case. According to Pinterest, marketers using videos in their Collection advertisements had a 44% higher return on investment (ROAS) than static Collection advertising.
Furthermore, both consumers and advertisers find Pinterest’s ad proposition to be favourable. According to Kantar’s ad equity measurements, Pinterest’s scores improved between 2021 and 2023, indicating that users are less likely to have an unfavourable impression of the platform’s advertisements. However, adverts on Pinterest are perceived as “very relevant and useful,” making it the second most popular ad platform among US consumers.
Following digital Platform Insights on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat, Pinterest is the most recent in a series of reports that are only available to WARC Media subscribers. These reports provide an overview of platform investments, media consumption, and performance insights.
