Pinterest Retail Marketing: 4 Ways to Boost Sales (2026)

Pinterest is still a go-to platform for visual discovery—people use it to search, save, and plan everything from DIY projects and recipes to home decor, fashion, and beauty.

When it first launched in March 2010, Pinterest was described as a “curation tool” or a virtual cork board where users could “pin” the photos and information they wanted to save. Today, it’s best understood as a visual search and discovery engine—so your Pins can show up when people are actively looking for ideas (and products) related to what you sell.

What’s changed since 2016: Pinterest’s commerce features and ad products have evolved, and the platform no longer uses “Buyable Pins.” What still applies: Pinterest remains keyword-driven, and high-quality Pins can keep surfacing in search results over time.

Key Takeaways

• Write for search: use keywords in Pin titles/descriptions and board names.
• Use Pinterest Ads Manager to promote existing Pins as ads and reach new audiences.
• For shopping, focus on Product Pins and a synced product catalog (not Buyable Pins).
• Follow current creative specs (recommended 2:3 vertical Pins) so your content looks great on mobile.

As you may be aware, this platform is useful beyond being a brilliant way to procrastinate. More businesses are using Pinterest to plant visual seeds, helping new customers discover retailers through search and recommendations.

In a Pinterest + Oracle Data Cloud study of 16 Promoted Pins campaigns (reported in 2016), retailers saw that 70% of sales driven by Promoted Pins came from new customers, and those new customers generated four times the sales lift of existing customers. Treat this as a historical benchmark rather than a guarantee of current performance. (Source: Adweek’s coverage of the Pinterest + Oracle Data Cloud study.)

So not only can you win new customers by leveraging Pinterest correctly, but you can also boost sales.

It also helps to consider Pinterest as a catalog of ideas rather than a traditional engagement-first social feed. A significant amount of content on Pinterest is published by brands, retailers, and creators—so you’ll want to ensure that whatever you’re pinning is relevant and actionable for people who are planning and shopping.

Your pinned content should not be disruptive to users’ browsing experience. It needs to stand out enough to attract their eye without repelling them by looking too promotional. (Don’t worry, tips on creating the right images are below.)

Shopify has already delved into 7 ways to drive sales and traffic with Pinterest. Here, you’ll learn how retailers can use Pinterest today—and what’s changed since earlier Pinterest commerce features.

1. Use Keywords, Not Hashtags

In order to make Pinterest work for you, it helps to know this about the platform from the start: it functions like a search engine as much as (or more than) a social network.

So what’s the impact?

It means that when writing copy to describe your Pins, you should prioritize keywords people actually search for.

Keywords help direct users to your Pins, so think about the words your target audience would type into a search bar. For example, if you sell women’s accessories, relevant keywords might include “women’s hats”, “jewelry trends”, “everyday accessories”, or “stylish accessories.”

What’s changed since 2016: hashtags have come and gone in importance across platforms, and Pinterest discovery is still primarily driven by search intent, topics, and relevance signals. Hashtags can still be used in some contexts, but they shouldn’t replace clear keyword-focused titles and descriptions.

On the flip side, hashtags can be useful when there’s a trending or relevant topic at play, and as a way to track a campaign or online conversation on other platforms. Counting how many hashtags on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are using something like #ootd (AKA “outfit of the day” in social media speak) signals an important hashtag for those platforms—not necessarily on Pinterest.

2. Use Pinterest ads (via Ads Manager)

There are also small-scale investments you can make on Pinterest to help boost the reach of your content, like running Pinterest ads.

If you have room in your marketing budget, consider promoting your best-performing Pins to increase reach and exposure. On Pinterest, you create campaigns in Ads Manager and choose which Pins to promote as ads. Pinterest’s business help center explains how to pick Pins to promote when building campaigns.

Pinterest is a place where people go to find brands they love—and discover new ones—so promoting a strong Pin can be a practical way to drive qualified traffic to your site.

What’s changed since 2016: the term “Promoted Pins” is used less often in favor of “Pinterest ads,” and campaign setup is centered in Ads Manager with modern objectives and targeting options. What still applies: promoting a proven creative can help you scale what’s already working.

Paid promotion can extend reach while your campaign runs, and strong organic Pins can continue to surface in search over time—especially when they match what people are actively planning or shopping for.

Macala Wright, a Seattle-based retail technology consultant and contributor to sites like Mashable and PSFK, shared her thoughts on Pinterest ads and navigating the ins and outs of the platform:

“With Promoted Pins, you are able to boost your top performing content or product Pins to your target audience. Unlike other platforms, Pinterest uses ‘terms’ to target people. With terms, you select the keywords that will trigger your ad. Terms allows you to narrow down your target audience by only showing your ad to someone who is actively searching for a keyword related to your brand. This naturally may give you a better click-through rate.”

When running Pinterest ads, you’ll typically choose an objective aligned to your goal (for example, awareness, consideration/engagement, or traffic/conversions), then select the Pins you want to promote and define your targeting.

Wright continues: “Pinterest advertisers can utilize further targeting to narrow down the audience and reach a more relevant demographic.”

PRO TIP: Remember: the better targeted your ads, the better chance of action. Instead of relying on older, unverified platform-wide purchase and AOV stats, focus on measuring your own results in Ads Manager (CTR, outbound clicks, add-to-carts, and conversion rate) and iterate on the Pins that drive the strongest On-Site performance.

3. Use Product Pins by syncing your product catalog

In addition to Pinterest ads, you can make your products easier to discover by using Product Pins powered by a synced product catalog. This is the modern approach to Pinterest shopping and replaces the older “Buyable Pins” program, which is no longer supported. (Source: Shopify Changelog: Pinterest no longer supports Buyable Pins.)

What this means today: Product Pins typically send shoppers to your online store to complete checkout, rather than enabling a universal “buy without leaving Pinterest” flow. Your goal is to reduce friction by keeping product details accurate (price, availability, title, and landing page) and ensuring the click-through experience is fast and mobile-friendly.

What’s changed since 2016: you’re no longer “activating Buyable Pins with a few clicks,” and you shouldn’t plan around a Pinterest-native checkout experience unless it’s explicitly available in your region and confirmed by Pinterest. What still applies: shoppable product content performs best when it’s useful, inspirational, and clearly connected to a product page that matches the Pin.

Practical ways to apply this now:

• Sync your product catalog, so Pinterest can generate and keep Product Pins up to date.
• Pin product-led lifestyle imagery (not just pack shots) and link to the most relevant product or collection page.
• Use Pinterest ads to amplify Product Pins that already earn saves/clicks organically.

4. Revamp Your Pinterest Strategy: Easy Tips to Apply ASAP

You’ve covered tactics to boost traffic and sales to your store and website—now here are quick ways to optimize your Pins right now.

For more advanced tips, get the most out of your Pinterest account with Shopify’s post on the 5 Powerful Tools for Growing Your Business on Pinterest.

Know Your Audience

Hone in on your target audience: Who are you trying to attract? What would they be searching for when browsing on Pinterest?

PRO TIP: Since Pinterest is search-driven, knowing your target audience helps you choose the right keywords, board titles, and topics to pin consistently.

Don’t Get Fancy With Board Titles

Save the word play for your brand’s website and marketing materials. Pinterest board titles should be simple, direct, self-explanatory, and keyword driven.

Consider Pinterest’s Feed Functionality

Share quality Pins to increase your chances of being saved and discovered. Pinterest's distribution is heavily influenced by relevance and intent—so content that matches what people are searching and planning for can keep getting surfaced.

Create Vertical Images

Because Pins are organized into columns, vertical Pins tend to stand out more in a user’s feed, especially on mobile devices.

PRO TIP: Pinterest recommends a 2:3 aspect ratio for standard Pins—commonly 1000 pixels wide by 1500 pixels high. For the latest requirements, review Pinterest’s current Pin specs.

Overlay Copy onto Your Images

If possible, add helpful text onto the image to give more context. Avoid overly promotional overlays (like “Sale”) on the image itself; use the Pin description and your landing page to communicate offers.

Repurpose Content From Your Website, Facebook, and Instagram

There’s no need to reinvent the Pin—use nicely branded images from owned channels like your site or social media, and format them for Pinterest.

Make Multi-Image Pins

If you want to add even more value, use a free design tool like Canva to create multi-image layouts. These can work well for how-tos, checklists, and step-by-step tutorials.

To Recap

Pinterest is a visual idea playground—and brands that understand how people search and plan on the platform can turn inspiration into traffic and sales.

People visit Pinterest with intent, looking for ideas they can act on. By applying keyword-driven strategies, using Pinterest ads through Ads Manager, and publishing Product Pins via a synced catalog, you make it easier for shoppers to discover your products and click through to buy on your site.

Next step: Choose 5–10 of your best product or lifestyle Pins, update the titles/descriptions with clear keywords, confirm each links to the right product page, then test promoting 1–2 top performers in Ads Manager to see what drives the most outbound clicks and conversions.