Pinterest reported its highest monthly active users ever on the platform Monday at 482 million in the third quarter. The photo board service says user growth was largely driven by Gen Z users who are the fastest-growing, most engaged users on the platform.
Pinterest’s monthly active users grew by more than 7% for every quarter in 2023, and Gen Z’s incessant mood and vision boarding may be responsible. Management sees a “strong product market fit with our recent cohorts, who save 2x more content in their first year on Pinterest, relative to older cohorts.”At Pinterest’s investor day in September, the company revealed that Gen Z made up 42% of its users, calling the demographic an “emerging powerhouse.”
Pinterest’s stock surged 17% on Tuesday after its strong quarterly performance, according to Reuters. If Gen Z is on the platform, that means advertisers are on the platform, and that has Wall Street excited. Pinterest’s ‘Shop The Look’ feature allows users to receive advertisements for lifestyle products that match the vibe of their Pinterest boards. Roughly 70% of the recommended products on Pinterest are highly relevant according to user ratings, showing the strong development of Pinterest’s advertising products.
Gen Z uses Pinterest for fashion inspiration, and several brands have caught on. Founders of an internet fashion label called Jaded London regularly check Pinterest to predict trends for under 25-year-olds, according to Vogue Business. Luxury brands such as Dior and Louis Vuitton are on the platform, trying to capitalize on Pinterest’s unique hold on the collective Gen Z mind.
Several advertising-based platforms, such as Meta and Amazon, have reported very strong digital advertising revenue this quarter, suggesting that advertising is back after a pandemic slump. Pinterest appears to be confident that it can capitalize on these industry trends by targeting its Gen Z users. The company launched Direct Links in Q3, which take users directly from their vision boards to a retailer’s website with just one click.
Pinterest now says it’s rolling out more tools for advertisers in 2024, and potentially including more advertisements on the platform. The photo-sharing platform is decidedly ‘cool’ by Gen Z’s standards, but we’ll see if Pinterest pushes the limit by commoditising its users and killing the vibe with ads.