How Pinterest Predicts will get shoppers searching for your brand in 2024
The Christmas decorations are down, the ‘2023 wrapped’ LinkedIn post is live, and somehow your local Tesco is selling Mini Eggs. It’s January, and this year’s Pinterest Predicts is upon us.
Coined a “not-yet-trending report”, Pinterest Predicts prides itself on an 80% hit rate for trends set to go big in the year ahead. Forget the retrospective end-of-year wrap up. This is a savvy snapshot of the future based on trend data from almost half a billion Pinners across the world.
And in a first, consumers can shop each of the 23 trends directly on Pinterest through curated boards, letting brands target trendspotters with specific products like grandad cardigans and outdoor gear.
So how else can brands and advertisers activate the trends to know about in 2024? Pinterest’s director of marketing for Europe Louise Richardson returned to the SocialMinds podcast to tell us.
Big kick energy
Unlike 2023’s collage aesthetic, this year’s trend imagery is unmistakeably AI-ish – a nod to a broader trend in itself.
“Escape” was the underlying theme of 2022; “self-care” in 2023. 2024 can be described as a year of exuberance. “Post-lockdown, we’re now in a place of recovery and looking to new things,” says Louise.
New things like high-energy Knockout Workouts. It’s out with the gentle stretches and papercraft of 2023 and in with martial arts and badminton.
“Pinterest isn’t inventing these trends. People are. And people are going bold this year.”
And while the y2k aesthetic of the past five years is going nowhere, trends like Make It Big, Kitschens and Groovy Nuptials imply inspiration from a different era: the 70s. We’ll weave the decade’s boldness and hedonism into our hair, our homes and when we get hitched, with “groovy wedding” up by 170% and “retro pink kitchens” up by 40%.
Own it
Some trends are decidedly more familiar than others, with their beginnings rooted in 2023. Trends like Hot Metal are sparked by last year’s chrome craze that was ubiquitous in fashion and beauty, but it seeps into homeware too – with searches for “aluminium furniture” up 45%.
Then there’s Blue Beauty, evoking the ‘blueberry milk nails’ trend of last summer, and of course Bow Stacking (is there anything we didn’t put a bow on last year?).
If you’re looking to up your Pinterest game, acting on these trends should be top of your list. Create inspirational content that’s still utilitarian, so you can occupy what Pinterest calls “the magic middle”, AKA meeting consumers in that all-important place between Pinning and purchase.
Take Mango for example, which owned the rising “wedding guest outfit” trend in Spain last spring. By utilising a Pinterest Trend Badge for its Capsule collection, Mango achieved an increase in click-through rate of 118% above benchmark.
Home is where the spend is
But your trend-led strategy shouldn’t stay on Pinterest. Trends like Cafécore speak volumes about consumers’ broader shopping habits. Boomer and Gen X Pinners are proactively responding to societal shifts like rising cost of living and hybrid working by “bringing the coffee shop vibe inside”, with “coffee bar styling” queries up by a whopping 1,125%.
As ever, it’s the creators like Alfie Deyes, Chris Olsen and Emma Chamberlain who jumped on the java train early with the recent launch of their respective coffee brands. Far from being an example of creators’ commercial savviness, the implications for brands are twofold.
First: don’t overlook our desire for luxury at-home experiences. For example, pizza chain Rudy’s recently discovered an appetite for its lockdown-era Bake At Home products. Second: make your in-store experience worth leaving the house for. A Brave Bison report found 53% of Gen Z and millennials favoured in-store shopping over other channels, up from 39% in 2022. Post-pandemic, we’re not as chronically online as we once were, and brands should take note.
And what about Big Talk, the trend that sees Gen Z and millennials yearning for emotional connection?
“For advertisers, Big Talk is about refusing to shy away from hard conversations with consumers,” says Louise. “Creatively, that could be a simple a message as: ‘we know times are tough and we’ve got your back’.”
“Advertisers think Gen Z is synonymous with TikTok, but they forget the older cohort is reaching the life milestones people go to Pinterest for.”
It’s a natural fit for financial services, health or wellbeing brands, but there’s an opportunity for any brand here: a newsletter or Instagram Broadcast channel connecting one-on-one with superfans; a content series like our very own The Linkup interviews; or a campaign breaking the stigma on a taboo topic. Whatever you do, don’t be all talk. If you only go surface level, you’re missing the point.
And if this didn’t sell you enough on Pinterest’s cultural prowess, Louise has some wise words. “Advertisers think Gen Z is synonymous with TikTok, but they forget the older cohort is reaching the life milestones people go to Pinterest for: buying their first houses, having children, and getting married.” So what better way to grab their attention than with Pinterest Predicts? No time like the present.
How to show up in the Magic Middle for Pinners in 2024:
- Take inspiration across unexpected verticals. Cafécore isn’t just about drinking coffee, it could also be about wearing it (remember latte makeup?).
- Financial services brands, heads up. Gen Z and millennials’ penchant for customisation is driving searches for “credit card stickers”. Help them with custom card designs or colour schemes for their banking apps.
- 2024’s itinerary for travel brands: Boomers and Gen X are seeking off-road adventures in 2024, while Gen Z and millennials will opt for laid-back staycations and a digital detox.
- Food, lifestyle and fashion brands should embrace the versatile Tropic Like It’s Hot trend. Think fuschia colour palettes, beachy set dressing and tropical scented homeware and cosmetics.
- Parents will celebrate their kids’ undercelebrated moments in 2024. Babycare brands can get in the party spirit by making this the centre of campaigns and ad creative.
- Lean into the zero-waste Give a Scrap trend on social with resourceful recipe videos, tutorials for custom garments, and patchwork-esque graphics.
- Big Talk is an opportunity for brands to hero vulnerability, but be warned: your audience will call you out if it doesn’t feel authentic.
- Use Pinterest’s trends tool year-round to see the popularity of any given search term over a specific period, filter results by demographic, and get inspired with related Pins.
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