Pinterest is a visual inspiration platform aimed at helping users discover personalized shopping ideas and connect with creators, boasting over 450 million monthly active users. Its business model largely revolves around advertising, generating revenue through promoted pins and e-commerce partnerships, while targeting women aged 18-49 interested in lifestyle content. Future growth strategies include market expansion, enhancing e-commerce integration, incorporating video content, and improving AI-powered personalization.

1. ADPList Product-Led Growth Series
Case for Pinterest
About Pinterest
● Description:
➔ Pinterest is the visual inspiration platform people around the world use to
shop for products personalized to their taste, find ideas to do offline and
discover the most inspiring creators. The headquarters are in San Francisco,
California with over 4,000 employees in offices around the globe.
● Mission:
➔ The mission statement of Pinterest states, “Our mission is to bring everyone
the inspiration to create a life they love.” Let us discuss the key ideas behind
this statement.
● Product and value proposition:
➔ Product: a visual search engine, which allows users to find ideas and
inspiration by searching for keywords, images, and visual patterns. Users can

2. save their favourite pins to their own boards and share them with their
friends and followers by saving them to their boards.
➔ Value proposition: the ability to curate personalised content and connect
users with like-minded individuals and brands.
● Usage stats:
➔ Pinterest has over 450 million monthly active users.
➔ 85% of them are female.
➔ 85% of Pinners use its mobile app.
➔ Over 100 million monthly active users in the United States.
➔ 80% of Pinners are located in other countries including India, Brazil, and
France.
● Business model (how do they make money?):
➔ Advertising is Pinterest's principal source of revenue. The platform provides a
variety of advertising alternatives, such as Promoted Pins, Promoted Video
Pins, and Promoted Carousels, which let businesses reach their target
audience through targeted advertisements. Pinterest produces revenue in
addition to advertising through affiliate marketing and agreements with
e-commerce platforms. Through its Shop the Look function, Pinterest
connects with e-commerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce to
allow users to purchase things straight from the platform.
Growth strategy
What was the growth strategy employed? What was the business environment in which
the company operated? How did it grow in that environment? (Fill out the structured
template below)
Market Stage Develop
ment
(low
rivalry)
Growth
(low
rivalry)
Shakeout
(Increase
Rivalry)
Maturity
(Strong Rivalry)
Decline
(Extrem
e
Rivalry)
In what stage was
the market and
product offerings at
the time?
Describe the
competitors and
Pinterest is currently in the growth
and maturity stage competing with
Facebook, Instagram, etc.

3. the market
conditions.
Product Growth
Strategy
Diversifi
cation
(New
Value
New
Market)
Market
Penetra
tion
(Same
value &
market
)
Market
Develop
ment
(Same
value
New
market)
Product Development
(new value
Same market)
Diversif
ication
(New
Value
New
Market)
What was the
product strategy
used?
Pinterest's product development
approach focuses on giving users a
personalized, visual, and engaging
experience while simultaneously
generating revenue growth through
e-commerce and advertising solutions.
Pinterest intends to preserve its
position as a market leader in social
media and visual search by continuing
to invest in new features and
improvements to existing ones.
Target Market Early
Adapter
s
Early
Majorit
y
Late
Majority
Laggers New
Market
What was the
customer segment
that they went
after?
(i.e. segment
description, size,
growth rate, % of
total market etc.)
Pinterest primarily targets women
aged 18-49 who are interested in
lifestyle, fashion, and home decor.
The platform had over 478 million
monthly active users globally as of
2021, with the majority of users based
in the United States.
Value Proposition
What was the
value proposition
for the targeted
segment brought
by the product?
Pinterest provided a visual inspiration
platform people around the world use
to shop for products personalized to
their taste, find ideas to do offline and
discover the most inspiring creators.
- Enhanced accessibility

4. - Seamless integration
- Marketing and advertising
- Analytics and data
Leading Goals
AARRR focus
Pinterest's leading goals are focused
on growing its user base, increasing
engagement and retention, generating
revenue through advertising, and
encouraging word-of-mouth referrals.
Metrics
What metrics were
optimised?
459 million monthly active users as of
Q2 2021:
- a year-over-year increase of 125%
- revenue also grew by 107%
year-over-year
- 60% of new sign-ups are driven by
recommendations
Growth Tactics
What growth
tactics, such as
growth loops, were
used?
(i.e. LinkedIn’s growth
loop is a viral loop
powered by its
network effect.
organic search traffic,
word-of-mouth,
social media, and
paid advertising)
Pinterest has mostly depended on a
combination of organic and sponsored
acquisition methods, as well as its
distinctive visual discovery features
that encourage user engagement
retention.
Pinterest's concentration on visual
search and discovery is a crucial
component of its growth strategy.
Pinterest provides a highly
personalised and engaging user
experience that encourages users to
spend more time on the platform by
allowing users to search for and
bookmark images and material that
match their interests. This, in turn,
leads to increased engagement and
user retention over time.
In-Depth Analysis of the Growth Strategy
Pinterest has been extremely successful, with the company experiencing a rapid increase in
user engagement, revenue, and total market share. Pinterest has established a robust

5. platform that is well-positioned for future development and success by prioritising user
interaction, visual search and discovery, and monetization.
In this in-depth analysis, we will explore each of these areas for everyone in more detail:
● Creating a highly personalized and engaging user experience that encourages users
to spend more time on the platform
● Ability to follow other users and collaborate on boards, which has helped to foster
this community and drive higher levels of engagement and user retention over time
● Advertising options, including Promoted Pins and Sponsored Content, have helped
brands and businesses to connect with Pinterest's highly engaged user base and
drive traffic to their websites
Source: Pinterest 2020 Financial Report
According to Pinterest’s 2020 Financial reports, Pinterest had around 459 million monthly
active users, a metric that has shown slow but steady growth since Q4 2017. (Pinterest
2020 Financial Report)

6. Potential future growth strategy
Pinterest's future growth strategy could be the following:
● Market Expansion:
➔ While Pinterest is already popular in certain countries, the platform has yet to
establish a significant presence in many others. Pinterest could look at
boosting its user base in emerging markets such as Southeast Asia, Africa,
and Latin America, where visual content and social media are becoming more
popular.
● E-commerce Integration:

7. ➔ As more people purchase online, Pinterest may expand its integration with
e-commerce platforms to deliver a more smooth shopping experience for its
users. This might include collaborations with major merchants or the creation
of new services such as in-app checkout or product recommendations based
on user browsing behaviour.
● Product Development:
➔ With the proliferation of short-form video content on platforms such as
TikTok and Instagram, Pinterest may look to explore methods to add video
content to its platform. This might include the creation of new video-focused
features, as well as collaborations with creators and businesses to showcase
their video content on the platform.
● AI-powered Personalization:
➔ Pinterest's main value proposition is its ability to present users with
personalised information based on their preferences and behaviour.
Pinterest's recommendation engine might be improved further by integrating
AI and machine learning algorithms to give more relevant material to users
and increase engagement on the network.