By: Sydney Brown

The social media app Pinterest is doing more than displaying creative posts.

With nearly 500 million active monthly users, Pinterest reaches an almost evenly split audience between Generation X, Gen Z and millenials. In comparison, X, formerly Twitter, taps in at 500 million active users and Instagram at 2 billion, yet a platform rarely captivates such an active and ranging demographic.

The social platform is now using analytics to inform its users and advertisers. “Pinterest Predicts” uses active search data projections of the year’s emerging trends.  

2024 Pinterest Predicts Report

A theme for the 2024 report is that many beauty and fashion trends are directed toward Generation Z; however, many of the projected hobbies and lifestyle trends involve millennial and Generation X participants, like playing pickleball and reclaiming hosting with fun kitchen decorating. 

The stand-out trends that have a noticeable uptick for 2024 are in self-care, with an over a thousand percent increase in searches for “body skincare routine” at +1,025%.  

In addition to this increase, beauty is a consistently high-ranking category. In both skincare and beauty, Pinterest is known for being a predominantly female-oriented platform, with 70 percent female users. 

At Kent State University, students learning fashion forecasting have also predicted many of these feminine trends. Both Pinterest and KSU students see “bows” as a popular style that has been continuing since 2023. 

Dr. Leslie, a fashion professor at Kent State University, said because there has been a lot of clothing branded as unisex and gender neutral, the fashion trends tend to rebel against what was previously acclaimed, so more feminine, fitted clothing is coming back into style. 

“We have short-term and long-term trends,” Dr. Leslie said.” And the longer trends of femininity are something that the bows feed right into.” 

Pinterest presents their findings in an easy and accessible way, making them an asset to its active users and creators and also a tool for marketers. 

“But they packaged it in a way that’s like fun to kind of follow and also can help brands and marketers inform their own work.”

Luz Corona – Ad Week, Community Editor

Ad Week’s Community Editor, Luz Corona, who recently spoke with Pinterest’s Head of Consumer Marketing, shared how this information allows advertisers to keep a pulse on what the target audience is currently looking for. 

“Research can be pretty boring sometimes, right? “said Corona. “But they packaged it in a way that’s like fun to kind of follow and also can help brands and marketers inform their own work.”

The report provides an overview of the categories and topics people are expected to care about throughout the year. However, for more unforeseen trends, Pinterest also displays a tracking report of how topics are currently trending on “Pinterest Trends.” 

Although some of the current trends could be forecasted, a handful are unforeseen. 

“Everything that is happening all around us creates something called the ‘zeitgeist’ or the spirit of the time. Dr. Leslie said. “And they [students] use that to inform their forecasts.” 

Similar to in the classroom, both Pinterest and Kent State students use the current themes to create a summarized forecast.

According to Pinterest, the goal of the comprehensive report is to be the “not-yet-trending report that shares emerging trends for the coming year.”

So, with peaking trends and emerging predictions, the platform is trying to be on the cutting edge of forecasting. 

As stated in The 2024 “Pinterest Predicts Report,” the company says, “It’s your guide to what people will shop, try and buy next. Before you see it everywhere, see it here.”