Pinterest bets big on visual search, going after Gen Z shoppers

Pinterest is doubling down on visual search, betting that the future of shopping isn’t about typing words into a box, but about seeing what you want and grabbing it.

The social media platform on Thursday unveiled a suite of new ad products at Pinterest Presents, its annual advertiser summit, laser focused on the 39% of Gen Z shoppers who prefer to start their product searches on Pinterest over traditional search engines.

The centerpiece among the ad tools announced is Pinterest Top of Search ads, “now in beta across all monetized markets,” according to the company. These ads land directly in the top 10 search results, where Pinterest’s research shows 45% of clicks happen. With 96% of top searches on Pinterest being unbranded, the platform is pitching this ad tool as prime real estate for brands to snap up shoppers who are still deciding what to buy.

“We’re giving advertisers the tools they need to reach high-intent shoppers with confidence and clarity, turning moments of inspiration into measurable business impact,” Bill Watkins, Pinterest’s chief revenue officer, said in a statement.

The platform’s early tests revealed Top of Search campaigns delivered 29% better click-through rates than normal and were 32% more likely to attract first-time clickers. Online furniture retailer Wayfair, an early Top of Search tester, saw a whopping 237% boost in click-through rates over two weeks.

After Google and Meta, Pinterest is well positioned to offer local inventory ads online.

• Google rolled out local inventory ads in late 2013. Last year, Google streamlined local inventory ads with automated onboarding that synced in-store availability from retailer websites, letting shoppers instantly see nearby shelf stock through shopping ads.
• Meanwhile, Meta introduced omnichannel ads earlier this year and expanded it to all global markets in August, that include local inventory and store locator features in the ad, to guide people to the nearest store with products in stock, and surface discounts that can make it even more enticing for shoppers to visit a store.

Pinterest has rolled out local inventory ads as a standard feature, letting merchants spotlight in-stock products near customers with buttons like “pick up in store” and “order local delivery.” Retailers can “show real-time pricing for in-stock items within a shopper’s approximate store radius,” according to Pinterest.