Updated October 10, 2018

Pinterest Holiday Insights 2018: For Pinterest Management. What Businesses and Brands Need to Know to Get More Traffic and Sales

Pinterest recently shared their research on how people use Pinterest to shop during the most popular holidays and celebrations such as; Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. The report also highlights popular searches (keywords) and interests during the holiday season that businesses and bloggers need to seriously leverage for 2018. This is information those of us in Pinterest Management need to know.

1. According to eMarketer US Holiday Shopping Preview 2018:

• 56% of people start shopping before November. By then, 2% actually completed their
  Spend.
• 20% identify as last-minute shoppers
• 45% plan to spend more this year than the previous year

2. Behaviors during the winter holiday shopping season:

• 45% of consumers say the internet has changed the way they shop for the holidays
• 30% of consumers prefer to shop for holiday items throughout the year
• 25% like to shop post-holiday sales
• 28% of consumers visit stores they normally wouldn’t during the holidays

Source: eMarketer Social Commerce 2018: Its Influence in the Path to Purchase

3. How about Pinterest users?

62.7 million people engage with winter holiday content.

Source: US | Pinterest internal data: 2017-2018 Actions included: Close-up, Saves, Searches

4. Pinterest is the go-to place for inspiration. Here are some reasons why people use Pinterest during the holiday season:

• 77% of respondents say it provides inspiration
• 71% said it helps them discover gifts ideas
• 73% says it helps them plan

Source: Source US | Toluna | Winter Holiday May 2018

5. When compared to search engines and social media networks Pinterest ranks the highest when it comes to helping them with creativity, excitement & inspiration for the winter holidays.

Source: US | Toluna | “Winter Holiday survey March 2018

6. Pinterest users go to Pinterest to manage their holiday stress and to help them stay organized. 1 in 3 uses Pinterest as a “survival kit” for the holidays. Use this knowledge to your advantage with your Pinterest Management.

Pinterest users are recharging by the following activities:

• 76% spending quality time with family and friends
• 55% doing something relaxing like going out and movies
• 44% doing something to take care of themselves

Pinterest Management Expert Actionable Tip:

Create content that helps Pinterest users enjoy the holiday season without feeling stressed. For example, if you have a DIY Craft blog create tutorials that are quick and easy. It’s also a good idea to highlight how long the project takes.

 

7. Why Pinterest users use Pinterest to plan their 2018 winter holidays.

• 67% say it suits their needs
• 59% say it is customized to their interests
• 50% say it provides them with unique ideas
• 2 in 3 say it provides last-minute solutions (e.g. narrows down options, helps me evaluate, helps me make final decisions)
• 63% of Pinners say Pinterest helps predict ideas that are most relevant to them

8. Winter holiday content from brands on Pinterest is perceived as more unique & personalized compared to search & social platforms. When asked about the role brands on Pinterest play, Pinners say:

• 93% “I find Pinterest very helpful and practical”
• 87% “Pinterest helps me find the right products while planning for the holidays”
• 82% “Pinterest gives me good inspiration for my individual needs”
• 55% “I often buy items that I wasn’t planning to purchase”

Pinners are more valuable holiday customers than people from other channels.

• 62% of Pinners say they made a purchase
• 66% of Pinners say they discovered new brands/products
• 67% of Pinners will spend $250+ this holiday season

Pinterest management expert reveals that there are four types of shoppers on Pinterest.

THE GUEST

• would much rather show up to a get-together than host one
• tends to splurge on themselves for the holidays
• knows what to bring to the parties they attend
• loves to be part of the party and to bring things for their hosts, including alcoholic beverages and accessories

Top Categories

• 53% Toys and games
• 52% Alcoholic beverages
• 43% jewelry / accessories

Top Searches

• Party snacks
• Fun holiday games for adults
• Champaign cocktail

Top Saved Ideas

• Cocktails
• Appetizers
• Gift Ideas

Pinterest Management Expert Actionable Tip:

This one is obvious. Gifters don’t necessarily want to make something. They want to show up with a nice gift that includes alcoholic beverages, accessories, and party snacks. Create hostess gift packs by highlighting what’s included and feature different price points.

THE GIFTER

• generous and huge-hearted
• makes the holidays more magical
• most likely to be focused on others
• won’t skimp on spending money to find the perfect gift
• doesn’t want anyone to feel left out, so they’ll buy gifts for nearly everyone, from family to friends to coworkers
• comes to Pinterest to find new and excellent gift ideas

Pinterest Management Expert Actionable Tips:

• Make sure to highlight what makes your product special.
• Create boards for specific individuals as shown in the Guided Search tool. As you can see there are plenty. Focus on your core target audience. For example, your board title for friends should be ‘Christmas Gifts for Friends’.

Top Categories

• 78% clothing & footwear
• 69% toys & games
• 68% holiday decorations

Top Searches

• Holiday gifts
• Technology
• Holiday decorations

Top Saved Items

• Holiday outfits
• Personalized outfits
• Home decor

THE PLANNER

• a party perfectionist, carefully considering every last detail
• excel in whatever they do, whether it’s mixing the perfect punch or having the neighborhood’s most festive front yard
• they do their research
• they spend the time to decide what products are just right
• open to new ideas if they’ll make the holidays even better

Pinterest Management Expert Actionable Tips:

This is a perfect opportunity for you to inspire planners. They’re perfectionists so think wow factor from extravagant foods, beverages, jaw dropping home decor, and personalized gifts.

Top Categories

• Clothing & footwear 74%
• Food & beverage 61%
• Holiday decorations 60%

Top Searches

• Holiday snacks for party
• Thanksgiving recipe
• Cranberry cocktails

Top Saved Items

• Centerpieces
• Living room decor
• Porch decor

THE TIME SAVER

• wants a happy holiday without all the fuss
• looks for convenient ways to celebrate
• both a party lover and a realist, the Time-Saver wants the fun of hosting without the hassle
• they look for ways to make things convenient, whether it’s using pre-prepared ingredients in a dish or a party decor kit to quickly spice up a room
• don’t mind if their holiday comes in a box—if it’s simple, straightforward and quick, it’s perfect

Pinterest Management Expert Actionable Tips:

• Create or curate cocktails, snacks, side dishes, games, and main dishes that are quick and easy.
• Offer free shipping to ensure holiday gifts arrive on time and gift wrapping options to help them save time.

Top Categories

• Food & beverage 68%
• Toys & games 67%
• Holiday decorations 61%

Top Searches

• Thanksgiving side dishes
• Holiday cocktail
• Pretzel holiday snacks

Top Saved Ideas

• Appetizers
• Main dishes
• Snacks

HALLOWEEN ON PINTEREST

There have been 95 million Halloween-related searches on Pinterest in the past year. It peaks from late September up until its peak on October 30. Here are the top trends for 2018:

Makeup and Beauty

• minimalist spiderweb-inspired eyeliner is up 71% year over year
• full on face-as-canvas styles including galaxy/celestial patterns is up 158% year over year
• pumpkin makeup is up 884% year over year
• leopard print is up 66% year over year
• Sally (Nightmare Before Christmas)-inspired makeup is up 91% year over year and is the number one searched Halloween-related term this season
• frightful fingernail styles including stitch nails is up 32% year over year
• stiletto nails is up 51% year over year

Costumes

• I, Tonya is up 720% year over year
• The Incredibles is up 669% year over year
• Black Panther is up 504% year over year
• Mamma Mia! Is up 1636% year over year
• Group Halloween costumes have seen 83% year over year growth. Matching best friend costumes like desserts is up 118% year over year
• ‘80s-tastic wrestling costumes inspired by GLOW is up 186% year over year) are having a moment this season.
• Family Halloween costume ideas:
  • dinosaurs is up 803% year over year
  • Neverland is up 250% year over year
  • avocado toast is up 245% year over year)
  • Boba tea is up 567% year over year
  • llama is up 382% year over year
  • Boss Baby is up 241% year over year
  • old lady-inspired looks is up 81% year over year

Entertaining / Halloween Food Party

• pumpkin chicken and rice-stuffed peppers is up 86k saves
• jalapeno popper mummies is up 138k saves
• rotten deviled eggs is up 66k saves
• spooky fog drinks to their cauldrons is up 41k saves
• red and rum-based beverages is up both up 50% year over year
• chocolate holds the top spot in all candy searches is up 87% year over

Halloween Decorations

• dry ice centerpieces is up 280% year over year
• pumpkin lanterns  is up 324% year over year
• drip-painted pumpkins is up 185% year over year
• floating witch hat luminaries is up 485% year over year
• Halloween wreaths is up 254% year over yea
• spooky window silhouettes is up 147% year over year
• black and orange balloon garland and inflatable jack-o-lanterns
• trunk-or-treating is up 2183% year over year

b. From date night to Halloween party

How do you take a daytime look to the Halloween party?

Pinterest Management Expert Actionable Tip:

Promote multiple products or curate content so people can easily transform their office daytime makeup to evening Halloween party. Have a look at the image below. All she needs to do is add the dark lines outside her lipstick. After work she added red nose and circles on her cheeks using her daytime lipstick. Then, using the same black eyeliner she accentuated her lashes by adding additional lines around the edges. Bottom line; she used the same products during the day for her night time look. How easy was that, right?

Source: Beauty Tidbits

Top Searches

• Halloween
• Costume
• Party
• Lipstick
• Date Night

Top Interests

• Beauty
• DIY Halloween
• Halloween makeup
• Halloween hairstyle
• Halloween nails

c. Scary movie tasting menu

Give Pinners scary snack ideas to turn the moment into an all-family experience. A snack can be given a spooky themed name aligned with a movie moment to make the idea easy and actionable.

Remember the gruesome scene in ‘Silence of the Lambs’, where Lector forces his victim to eat his own brain? So creepy!

Source: Film and Food Blog

Top Searches

• Halloween
• Treats
• Movie Night
• Cupcakes
• Candy apple

Top Interests

• Holiday recipes
• DIY Halloween
• Food and Drink
• Halloween Recipes
• Halloween Cupcakes

d. Life after Halloween

What happens to Halloween décor after the celebration is over?

Pinterest Management Expert Actionable Tip: Show how your products can easily transition from Halloween to Thanksgiving, to Christmas.

Source: Living After Midnite 

THANKSGIVING ON PINTEREST

a. Dessert drinks

Kick off the season with the perfect fall beverage with easy to make recipes.

Top Searches

• Apple cider
• Drink recipes
• Thanksgiving
• Holiday drinks
• Winter cocktails

Top Interests

• Food and Drink
• Thanksgiving
• Holiday Recipes
• Thanksgiving recipes
• Thanksgiving DIY

b. The perfect use for leftovers

Thanksgiving typically means lots of leftovers. We certainly do! Help Pinners create easy meals, sandwiches and snacks. Go on Pinterest’s search engine and as you can see you can narrow your search starting with the most popular keyword ‘recipes’, ‘ideas’, ‘casserole’, and so on.

Top Searches

• Snacks
• Leftovers
• Thanksgiving
• Sandwiches
• Turkey Recipes

Top Interests

• Food and Drink
• Thanksgiving
• Holiday Recipes
• Thanksgiving recipes
• Thanksgiving DIY

c. Decorating for Thanksgiving

Create Thanksgiving decor that is fun, quick, and easy.

Source: Pinterest

Source: The Krazy Coupon Lady

Top Searches

• Decorations
• Fall Decor
• Thanksgiving
• Holiday hacks
• Bedroom style

Top Interests

• Decorations
• Thanksgiving
• DIY and Crafts
• Home and Garden
• Thanksgiving DIY

d. After party cleanup

With every great party comes the mess. Help Pinners make their life easy with clean-up hacks, printable lists, and a schedule without the stress.

Source: Buzzfeed

Top Searches

• Cleaning hacks
• Recipes
• Cleaning tips
• Thanksgiving dinner
• Party planning

Top Interests

• Food and drink
• Thanksgiving
• Holiday recipes
• Thanksgiving recipes
• Thanksgiving DIY

CHRISTMAS ON PINTEREST

 

a. Be prepared for the rush!

If you’ve hosted several parties in the past you know some things just simply don’t turn out. Help Pinners with party planning solutions such as’ how much food to serve, no bake recipes, and other ideas should something not work out last minute.

Source: Pinterest 

Top Searches

• Holiday recipes
• Holiday decor
• Party ideas
• Table setting
• Leftovers

Top Interests

• Christmas
• Holiday recipes
• Christmas appetizers
• Christmas party food
• Christmas party

b. DIY holiday décor

Inspire Pinners by planning ahead with their DIY Christmas decor projects that will make lasting memories they can enjoy with their friend and family. From sprucing up their front door with cheap Dollar Store finds to felt projects for kids, and easy rustic centerpieces, inspire Pinners with easy transitions from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

Top Searches

• Wreath
• Holiday decor
• Christmas ornaments
• Party ideas
• Winter style

Top Interests

• Decorations
• Christmas
• Home and garden
• DIY and crafts
• DIY Christmas

c. Snacks

Inspire Pinners to whip up some delicious eats this holiday season with these three step snack ideas that are healthy and easy.

Source: Pinterest

Top Searches

• Brie
• Salami
• Festive snacks
• Holiday recipes
• Cranberry sauce

Top Interests

• Holiday recipes
• Christmas
• Christmas appetizers
• Christmas snacks
• Christmas party food

GIFTING ON PINTEREST

• 160k+ Pinners are searching for gifts on Pinterest every day
• 64% millennials
• 36% age 34+

 

6 GIFTING TRENDS FOR CHRISTMAS 2018

a. Home decor is up 123% year over year

• Hygge
• warm-toned basics like brass kitchen hardware
• terracotta candle holders
• crochet blankets
• fairy lights
• copper kitchen utensils.

b. Jewelry is up 37% year over year

• dainty gold rings
• vintage emerald engagement rings
• leaf earrings
• pineapple pendants
• leather bracelets

c. Wellness is up 231% year over year

• workout and relaxation gear
• essential oils
• hydration jugs
• workout outfits
• shower melts
• aromatic playdough

d. Toys is up 32% year over year

• touch and feel color cards
• calm down glitter bottles
• stuffed animal hammocks
• take-along legos
• eco-friendly games

e. Hosting is up 21% year over year

• infused syrups
• sangria mocktails
• tea party food
• keto mug cakes
• mimosa fixings

f. Tech accessories is up 34% year over year

• functional backpacks
• charging cables
• organizers
• wearable tech
• personalized tech

Pinners are using snacks and candy to create the perfect personalized & unique gifts. There are…

• 50k+ saves in a jar
• 50k+ saves in special moments
• 25k+ saves in appreciation gifts

For wedding season alcohol is a top choice for groomsmen, as are jewelry and “home spa” packages for bridesmaids. There are…

• 20k+ saves packaged gifts
• 14k+ saves personalized jewelry
• 10k+ saves spa day

A personal touch is added to home décor items to create a unique gift.

• 7k+ saves in rock painted gifts
• 5k+ saves in scrabble gifts
• 5k+ saves in personalized map cards

With the holiday season just around the corner businesses and bloggers need to get cracking to stay ahead of the curve. Even if you’re new to Pinterest management this is a great opportunity to increase your brand awareness and connect with new customers. If you’re an advanced Pinterest management professional look at some of your holiday content and tweak it in a way that will attract the different types of holiday buyers mentioned in this post.

Bottom line, showcase how you can personalize your products and offer simple quick and easy solutions so Pinners can create stress-free lasting memories with their friends and family. 

How Can I Help You? 

If learning how to use Pinterest for business is overwhelming for you and you feel like you are going around and around with Pinterest and not getting anywhere please contact me at anna@whiteglovesocialmedia.com, a Pinterest management services and marketing expert.