Social networking site Pinterest was the fastest site in history to reach 10 million unique monthly visitors and high user engagement metrics; a significant feat especially when considering that during much its initial launch and growth, the site was invitation-only. The social site’s strong user engagement with popular topics and themes such as fashion, home, garden and DIY and subsequently, relevant brands and influencers, forms the basis for its leading position in the area of social marketing and commerce. As of the fourth quarter of 2019, the platform’s user base amounted to 335 million monthly active Pinterest users worldwide. Pinterest also has a strong mobile presence, reaching approximately 36 percent of U.S. mobile audiences in 2019.

In spring 2019, the company announced plans for an IPO and started trading on the New York Stock exchange on April 18, 2019. In the most recently reported fiscal year, Pinterest’s annual net revenue amounted to 1.14 billion U.S. dollars with a net loss of 1.36 billion U.S. dollars. The majority of revenues are generated in the United States, and Pinterest has also stated that this is due to the company’s early focus on monetization efforts in the U.S. as well as the relative size and maturity of the digital advertising market in the United States. In the fourth quarter of 2019, Pinterest’s ARPU in the United States amounted to four dollars per quarter whereas international ARPU only amounted to 0.21 U.S. dollars during the same period.

The United States account for the majority of Pinterest.com visitors – approximately 43 percent of desktop traffic to Pinterest in October 2019 originated from the United States. Whereas the social platform does not have the reach or impact of Facebook or Twitter, it is still decidedly present among U.S. online audiences with an awareness reach of 72 percent as of February 2019. The most popular usage reasons for Pinterest users in the United States include entertainment purposes and to follow brands and companies. Overall, Pinterest is one of the most popular social commerce platform in the United States: users are willing to use “shop now” buttons to purchase products through the platform and Pinterest also generates a significant amount of referral traffic.