Pinterest, launched in 2010, has always been more difficult to understand than Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn. Who uses it? How? For what purpose? We intend to answer these and many other questions with these carefully put-together Pinterest statistics.
As these numbers would also make it clear, if you are a business owner or a marketer, getting your Pinterest game right can be tremendously profitable as well. There are a number of aspects in which Pinterest beats its competitors, and its nature makes it ideal for businesses to connect with their customers in meaningful ways.
Pinterest Statistics (Editor’s Choice)
- 459 million people use Pinterest every month.
- The number of Pinterest users in the US is 100.75 million.
- 85% of Pinners are on mobile.
- 77.1% of Pinterest’s global audience is female.
- Pins that feature life moments experience a 22% lift in sales.
- More than half of pins represent brands and products.
- A pin including a specific call to action increases engagement by 80%.
- In Q4 2020, Pinterest made $706 billion.
Pinterest Facts & Figures
1. 459 million people use Pinterest every month.
The platform has registered steady growth in its monthly active users over the last few years when a number of other social media platforms saw a tapering off. The global number of Pinterest monthly active users noted a 37% YoY growth, reaching 459 million. These users are conducting on average 2 billion searches every month.
(Pinterest)
2. Pinterest is the 5th most popular mobile social networking app in the US.
In terms of US audience, Pinterest ranks below Facebook, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and Twitter but above Snapchat, WhatsApp, and Reddit. Internationally, its position is significantly lower because of the popularity of regional social networks like WeChat, QQ, and Sina Weibo.
(Statista)
3. The US is the leading country by Pinterest users.
Pinterest user statistics prove that the image-sharing platform is the most popular in the US. As of January 2021, Pinterest has 100.75 million users in the US. Germany is a far second with 17.56 million, followed by France 12.22 million and the UK with 10.75 million users.
(Statista)
4. 89% of shoppers go to Pinterest to get ideas on what to buy.
In fact, the number of users shopping on Pinterest grew 50% by Q2 2020, and now as much as 50% of Pinners shop frequently on the platform. Pinners spend more than 25% on the platform shopping, and 85% of them have bought something based on pins they see from brands.
(Sprout Social)
5. There are over 240 billion pins on the platform.
Pinterest usage statistics reveal that over 240 billion ideas have been saved across 4 billion boards. 14 million articles are pinned daily and Mondays and Saturdays are the days with the highest engagement on Pinterest.
(Omnicore Agency, Oberlo)
6. The visual platform sees 99% image pins, whereas 0.3% of all pins contain videos.
Although images dominate Pinterest, videos are rapidly gaining popularity. Pinterest statistics indicate there’s a 31% increase in search for inspirational videos and video views increased by 200%. Additionally, Pinners are now 54% more likely to get inspired and take action when watching videos on Pinterest compared to other social media platforms, further boosting the demand for video production companies.
(Buffer, TechCrunch)
7. Pins live in months, much longer than the posts on other social media platforms.
The average useful lifespan of tweets is measured in minutes while posts on Facebook have their useful existence for a few hours. In contrast, Pinterest statistics reveal that the average pin can come up in searches months after it was originally posted. This means that interesting content can keep getting discovered by new users far longer than on other platforms. On average, Pinterest’s content lasts 110 days, compared to YouTube's twenty days, Instagram's two days, Snapchat's one day, Facebook’s five hours, and Twitter’s 17 minutes.
(ZDNet)
8. 85% of Pinners are on mobile.
The advantage of high mobile usage is that Pinners consult the platform’s content when they are out shopping. By engaging with these users, brands can have a strong influence on their purchase decisions.
(Pinterest)
9. Joy Cho has the most followers on Pinterest; nearly 15 million.
Pinterest follower statistics reveal that Joy Cho, designer, blogger, and founder of Oh Joy!, has maintained her lead on the platform for some time now. The other top accounts on Pinterest are Maryann Rizzo (9 million followers), Poppytalk (10.4 million followers), and Mamas Uncut (8.5 million followers).
(Lifewire)
10. The most popular Pinterest categories in the US are food and drink, home decor, and travel.
Certain categories lend themselves better to the visual blogging style of Pinterest and attract more visitors. When it comes to Pinterest’s popularity, the food and drinks category has long been the leader. Closely following are home decor and travel. Pinterest stats reveal other top categories are health and fitness, women’s fashion, hair and beauty, DIY and crafts, and entertainment.
(Social Media Today)
11. Search activity on Pinterest in mid-March increased by 80% YoY.
The coronavirus outbreak caused a rapid increase in Pinterest search activity. The platform noted an 80% YoY increase in search activity. The engagement with Pinterest’s shopping features also increased by 44% from 2019.
(Glossy)
Pinterest Demographics
12. 77.1% of Pinterest’s global audience is female.
The majority of Pinterest users are females because it first gained popularity among the mostly female arts and crafts community. 14.5% of Pinterest users are male and 8.6% are unspecified.
(Statista)
13. Pinterest doubled the number of male Pinners in 2020.
Pinterest demographics data indicates that in 2020, the number of men on Pinterest increased by 50% YoY. After the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, men turned to Pinterest looking for at-home ideas. Searches for modular kitchen increased by 12x and storage solutions queries are up 7x among men. Some of them were looking to enhance their look. Searches for men’s fashion streetwear increased 6x and queries related to healthy men’s skincare saw a 9x increase.
(Pinterest)
14. In 2020, the number of Pinners younger than 25 increased by 50%.
Based on Pinterest user demographics, the fastest-growing age group in 2020 was Gen Z. Survey shows that this generation is engaging with Pinterest mostly to plan for the future. The number of millennials using the platform also grew by 36% YoY. Data shows that this generation turned to Pinterest to enhance their homes, look for homeschool inspiration, and find creative fashion and makeup ideas.
(Pinterest)
15. Over 50% of Pinterest traffic comes from outside the US.
About half of the existing users on the platform are from outside the USA. This means that the platform is ideal for brands looking for truly international exposure. Pinterest statistics by country show that while 43.95% of the visits were from the US, Brazil (8.08%), India (3.61%), China (2.52%), and Poland (2.03%) accounted for a substantial number also.
(Similar Web)
16. 66% of Americans in the 18-49 age group use Pinterest.
People aged 18-29 years old are traditionally known to be the first to adopt new technologies or websites. They account for 32% of the US Pinterest users. The platform is also most popular among users under the age of 49 with 34% of them using the platform. 38% of Americans in the 50-64 age group use Pinterest, while about 18% in the 65+ category are active on the platform, according to Pinterest age demographics data.
(Statista)
17. High-income US households are more likely to use Pinterest.
Users are more likely to be on Pinterest if they have a college degree and come from households with relatively high incomes. For instance, while 40% of Americans with household income above $75,000 use Pinterest, the number is only about 21% for those from households with income less than $30,000. The figures for households earning $30k-$50k and $50k-$75k are 33% and 29%, respectively.
(Social Media Today, Statista)
Pinterest Usage Statistics
18. 98% of Pinners try out the ideas they discover on the platform.
Despite other platforms’ claims of a greater degree of engagement and inspiration for their users, the average across other social media platforms is just 71%. In fact, pins with DIY project ideas have noted a rise of 35%.
(Pinterest)
19. 41% of people who shop in-store use Pinterest while shopping.
As stated in an earlier point, the strong mobile presence of Pinterest has a direct bearing on how often Pinterest users consult information on the platform even when they are not shopping online. With that in mind, having an account on Pinterest to guide users’ purchase decisions can be a smart move for brick-and-mortar business owners as well.
(PR Daily)
20. 83% of Pinterest’s women users use it to plan “life moments.”
According to Pinterest user stats, many Pinners utilize ideas from social media platforms to plan life moments like home decoration, trips, parties, or even family meals. As many as 83% of American women users in the 25-54 age group rely on Pinterest for ideas. For comparison, only 53% use Facebook and 44% use Instagram for this purpose. Pinners also start planning twice as early as people who use other platforms.
(Social Champ)
21. 59% of millennials have discovered products on Pinterest.
Pinterest user demographics reveal the median age of Pinners is 40, the average user on the platform is quite young. These young users are also discovering new product ideas on the platform, which is another sign of Pinterest’s strong user adoption. While Facebook scores the highest at 78%, Pinterest (31%) is at par with Instagram (32%), which has four times as many users, and well ahead of Twitter (24%).
(Venture Beat, PewResearch)
22. 55% of Pinners are looking specifically for products.
Based on Pinterest stats on user intent, while 60% of users say that they visit the platform to view photos, 55% also say that they are searching for products, which is 4x the rate of other digital platforms. Pinners, therefore, do not just make an occasional impulse purchase; they are consciously out to discover products on the platform, which can be a major plus for brands looking to connect to such users.
(Aryxe)
23. 78% of users say content from brands on Pinterest is useful.
Unlike some other social networks where ads compete with content from friends and family for users’ attention and, thus, can appear intrusive, another one among interesting facts about Pinterest is that it is one platform where most users look forward to information from brands. 66% of people would buy something after seeing a brand’s pin and 60% of US adults are more likely to purchase from brands they see in positive spaces.
(Pinterest)
24. 72% of Pinners say the platform inspires them to shop when they aren’t actually looking for anything.
Pinterest doesn’t just serve those who are actively looking for shopping ideas. Nearly 3 out of 4 users have also found that browsing through the eye-catching content on the platform encourages them to make a purchase even when they didn’t mean to do so originally. This power to influence users’ purchase intent can be a boon for SMM agencies.
(Tailwind)
25. Pinners are 14% more likely to shop groceries online than non-Pinners.
After the coronavirus outbreak, Pinterest statistics reveal that 2 in 3 Pinners turned online to shop for groceries once every two weeks or more. Pinners who shop groceries online tend to spend 27% more than non-Pinners for click and collect shopping. Pinners spend 14% more than non-Pinners on personal shopping and delivery.
(Pinterest)
26. 85% of Pinners agree that Pinterest is the place to go when starting a new project.
The majority of Pinners go to Pinterest when they’re about to start a new project. To compare with, only 26% go to social media channels with the same purpose. 64% of Pinners also consider Pinterest to be the top place for discovering ideas but also trusted products and services.
(Pinterest)
Pinterest Statistics for Business
27. 97% of Pinterest searches are unbranded.
Another noteworthy point is that out of 2 billion Pinterest searches every month, about 1.9 billion of them are unbranded. Pinners have purchase intentions, but they are also open-minded. In this discovery mode, they are in an ideal condition to be introduced to new brands and product ideas.
(Obrelo)
28. Promoted Pins earn $2 for every $1 spent.
Pinterest statistics show that it delivers a more efficient and effective ROI than other types of media. In terms of ROI, this translates to $2 in profit for every $1 spent on advertising. It was also found that each advertiser in the model could increase their Pinterest spend to 5% of their total marketing budget while maintaining ROI, which means that there is an opportunity for advertising firms to scale their spending and drive a proportionally larger business outcome.
(Shopify)
29. Pinterest drives 33% more traffic to shopping sites than Facebook.
The average Pinterest engagement rate is just better than any other social networking platform. If you take into account the relative number of active users, Pinterest ranks at the top when it comes to getting its users to visit shopping sites.
As per Pinterest traffic statistics, the traffic that the image-sharing network drives are not only 33% higher than Facebook but 71% higher than Snapchat and an incredible 200% higher than Twitter. And it’s not just driving users to shopping sites where Pinterest scores; consumers referred by Pinterest are also 10% more likely to make a purchase at an ecommerce site than those referred by Facebook.
(Social Media Perth)
30. Pins that feature life moments experience a 22% lift in sales.
The platform encourages advertisers to keep content seasonal and aspirational for peak engagement, no matter who uses Pinterest. One of the ways to do this is to feature life moments, which also leads to a 10X lift in awareness, according to Pinterest statistics from an internal analysis.
(Hootsuite)
31. Every day, nearly 2 million people pin products that have rich pins.
A rich pin is a format on Pinterest that allows you to show more information about your pin. For example, a product-rich pin would include real-time pricing, availability, and information on where to buy the product. Marketers would do well to focus on rich pins as these have been shown to have increased engagement. Note that this data is from a few years back and, given the much higher Pinterest user base now, the engagement rate is also likely to have gone up significantly.
(Marketing Land)
32. 61% of Pinners have discovered new brands or products from promoted pins.
Pinterest statistics from ZDNet research have shown that promoted pins have a substantial impact on user engagement. They do not just help your brand get more visibility but also get higher conversions. 50% of Pinners have made a purchase after seeing a promoted pin.
(ZDNet)
33. More than half of pins represent brands and products.
Two-thirds, to be precise. This is another reflection of how Pinterest is fundamentally different from most other social media platforms. While Facebook or Twitter is more about personal content, Pinterest is geared towards connecting users with brands.
(Content Works)
34. A pin including a specific call to action increases engagement by 80%.
According to Pinterest stats, Pinners appreciate if a pin from an advertiser suggests a clear call to action and reward such pins with nearly twice the engagement rate compared to regular pins. Another way for advertisers to improve their engagement is to keep track of trending topics. Research shows that pins related to trending topics see a 94% increase in CTR.
(Social Marketing Writing)
35. Pins with descriptions of 100 to 200 words are the most popular.
Even though Pinterest is primarily a visual medium, you would be losing out on repins and followers if you don’t use text descriptions with your pins. A brief description—in about 100 to 200 words—of the image or the webpage the image provides useful information to users and helps make your pins more popular.
(Social Marketing Writing)
36. Businesses using Pinterest Propel see up to 3x more clicks on their ads than businesses, not in the program.
The custom marketing plans that businesses get through Pinterest Propel have helped them achieve great results in a very short period. Pinterest stats show that this doesn’t just include a much higher number of clicks from users but also as much as a 15% decrease in costs per click in just about three months.
(Social Media Today)
37. Pinterest reaches an average of 169 million people with ads.
According to reports, Pinterest ads can reach close to 170 million people. 72% of that audience is female and 20% is male. The largest Pinterest ads audience is the 25-34 age group where 29% are female, 9% are male, and 3% are unspecified.
(Datareportal)
Pinterest Financial Statistics
38. In 2020, Pinterest generated an estimated 1.39 billion in advertising.
Pinterest’s growth in advertising revenue is notable and it’s expected to continue to do so in the future. Pinterest ads are 2.3x more effective than ads on other social media channels and 1.3x more effective than traditional media. These are just a few of the reasons why many digital marketing agencies started leveraging Pinterest for business.
(Statista)
39. In Q4 2020, Pinterest made $706 billion.
Pinterest stats for Q4 2020 show that the company earned $706 million in revenue in 2018, which was a remarkable growth of 76% YoY. The US accounts for $582 million of the revenue, noting 67% YoY growth. Internationally, Pinterest earned $123 million, a whopping 145% increase from Q4 2019.
(Pinterest)
40. Pinterest ARPU is lower than other social networks but growing.
Pinterest scores below other social media platforms in terms of average revenue per user. Its ARPU in the US was $5.94 in Q4 2020, which is still a far cry from Facebook’s US ARPU of $53.56.
However, unlike Facebook, Pinterest is still in the early stages of monetizing its user base. As its user base keeps growing and as it keeps rolling out new tools for advertisers, the platform promises strong potential for extracting much more value for marketers.
(Pinterest)
41. Upon announcing Q4 2020 earnings, the Pinterest stock climbed by 8%.
Pinterest statistics reveal the platform exceeded expectations seeing a revenue jump of 76%. The company reported earnings of 34 cents per share, up from the expected 32 cents per share. Soon after announcing the earnings, the Pinterest stock increased by 8% to approximately $84.15.
(Investors)
Pinterest FAQ
How old is Pinterest?
Pinterest was founded in March 2010. In August the same year, there were only 5,000 people using the platform. Today, Pinterest is 11 years old and its user base grows rapidly and it’s a powerful marketing tool in every marketer’s arsenal.
How many users does Pinterest have?
As of Q4 2020, Pinterest user stats reveal that the platform sees 459 million monthly active users. The platform sees on average 2 billion searches per month.
Which country uses Pinterest the most?
With 100.75 million, the US is the leading country based on the number of Pinterest users. Data also show that the US accounts for 43.95% of the platform’s visits.
Who uses Pinterest?
The majority of Pinterest’s user base (77.1%) is female. Men account for 14.5% of total Pinterest users, whereas 8.6% are unspecified. Furthermore, 18-29-year-olds are the largest Pinterest age demographics in the US, accounting for 69% of the users.
How many people buy from Pinterest?
55% of Pinners go to Pinterest specifically to buy something and 66% of people would buy something after seeing a branded pin. 72% of them say the image-sharing network motivates them to buy something even when they aren’t looking for anything.
What is a good engagement rate on Pinterest?
Pinterest engagement rate is the number of saves, pin clicks, and outbound clicks. Ideally, all your pins would be Repinned at least once. Of course, a pin with 100 repins in, say, two days is likely to outrank the pin with the same number of repins but in 10 days.
How much is Pinterest worth?
According to the latest Pinterest statistics, the platform’s market cap is estimated at $49.33 billion up from $38 billion from the beginning of 2020.
Sources
- Statista
- Statista
- Statista
- Sprout Social
- Omnicore Agency
- Oberlo
- Buffer
- TechCrunch
- ZDNet
- Lifewire
- Social Media Today
- Glossy
- Statista
- Similar Web
- Statista
- Social Media Today
- Statista
- PR Daily
- Social Champ
- Venture Beat
- PewResearch
- Aryxe
- Buffer
- Tailwind
- Shopify
- Social Media Perth
- Hootsuite
- Marketing Land
- Content Works
- Social Marketing Writing
- Social Media Today
- Datareportal
- Statista
- Investors