Contrary to achieving record highs in terms of revenue and engagement, Pinterest’s latest performance report shows that it has, and continues to, lose active users. This decline is attributed mainly to the easing of COVID restrictions, with more people finally being able (and wanting) to go offline and return to physical locations and routines.

Based On The Charts…

Beginning with usage, Pinterest’s total Monthly Active User (MAU) count went down by 10 million in Q3, bringing it down to a current 444 million. In Q2, the user count was down by 24 million, accruing a total of 34 million lost MAUs over the span of roughly six months. What really dips its momentum is experiencing this loss after a long stretch of steady growth.

Though not great, the news isn’t unexpected as well, seeing as how Pinterest had always branded itself to be a shopping-focused platform. Among others, Pinterest themselves knew that they were likely to get hit hard once restrictions subsided. During the prolonged lockdown, Pinterest added over 100 million active users, giving itself the title of ‘Virtual Shopping Mall’ in place of IRL shopping malls. While this drove major growth, the key role that Pinterest played was not to last as the same trend that saw it rise is the one that’s likely to suffer most as physical malls re-open, significantly reducing the platform’s utility.

While it may seem like somber news, there is still a bit of optimism to be had. Regarding other elements, Pinterest cannot be accurately measured by user growth alone, as it does not share the same business format as other social platforms. On the revenue side of things, while it still exhibits a pretty minor overall Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), the value continues to rise, especially now that Pinterest is in the process of rolling out its shopping tools to more regions. The overarching argument here is that, as opposed to generating more revenue from ads, which benefits more from reaching wider audiences, Pinterest has the opportunity to make more money from shopping and incentivize direct action with each Pin. This doesn’t rule out ads adding to Pinterest’s revenue generation but highlights that they are of less priority and focus.

Pinterest explains:

“Shopping engagement remains robust, with the number of Pinners engaging with shopping surfaces up more than 20% quarter over quarter and up 60% year over year.”

To add, Pinterest notes a 100% Year-Over-Year (YoY) increase in product searches, underlining an increased demand from large retail advertisers. ‘Shop’ tab Gen-Z searches have also increased 200% YoY.

The Wrap

Despite the loss, Pinterest’s revenue remains steady, however, if they continue to lose users, advertisers on the platform will also begin to wane. That’s why, despite having set their niche, Pinterest is also experimenting with new ways to engage more users and better retain the ones they already have. Among current initiatives are the AR Try on, ‘Takes’ on Idea Pins, and Watch Feed, which is basically Pinterest’s take on the Instagram scroll feed-in full-screen.

At least concerning responding and utilizing behavioral trends, it’s even learning a thing or two from TikTok. Since Pinterest is still mainly shopping-focused, exploring new avenues to interact with users should have it in an excellent position to progress, especially now that the entirety of social media seems to be shifting to a focus on eCommerce. Should it find its bearings, Pinterest stands to be a major player once the shift actually happens.

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