In the summer of 2022, Pinterest quietly released a new iOS app called Shuffles that lets you create collages using photos and image clippings from the website. The app became popular among his Gen Z users, and later its features were integrated into his Pinterest itself. The company now says its Collage feature, which leverages AI and computer vision technology, has triple the engagement of traditional Pins.
The new format allows users to curate content from around the web and Pinterest, and optionally combine it with images taken with their phone's camera to express their style, interests, and tastes. In the early days, users created collages that looked like mood boards or focused on specific interests, such as their favorite pop stars, and published them on his TikTok, set to music.
But today's Pinterest users are more likely to create collages of style inspiration, such as home decor and outfit ideas that they once saw in the glossy pages of women's fashion magazines. Some people use collages to put together groups of their favorite products, such as skincare or makeup items they want to try. Most images are available for purchase directly on Pinterest.
Image credit: Pinterest
Collages require more work than simply saving pins to a Pinterest board, but the feature is gaining momentum, the company told investors on its Q1 2024 earnings call.
CEO Bill Ready said, “Users are about three times more likely to save collage Pins than other Pins on Pinterest, and a significant portion of them include clickable products.” “Collages also continue to gain attention among Generation Z, which accounts for approximately 70% of collage creators.Furthermore, the increased actionability of Pins increases user satisfaction, deepens engagement, and increases growth. is another central philosophy. [monthly active users]”
In particular, collages work because of their design, which leverages AI and computer vision. Rather than simply saving a .jpg or .png photo to a Pinterest board with links or notes, you can identify objects from the photo and “crop” it, or cut out the subject of the photo. Use scissors in the real world. This feature is similar to the Image Crop feature in iOS, which lets you do things like cut a dog out of a photo and paste the cutout into an iMessage chat. But Pinterest's cutout use case focuses on letting people curate groups of items that can go together.
This human-driven curation could also help Pinterest improve its AI in the future, the company said.
As Ready explained, the AI-powered features include “a flywheel that feeds us more granular signals that allow us to train the AI to perform unique behaviors that don't occur on other platforms. There is a “effect”. This will make Pinterest even more competitive as the AI race grows, he said.
Pinterest easily beat expectations for Q1 2024 revenue, thanks to increased usage from Gen Z (who now make up over 40% of Pinterest users) and a rebound in brand ad spending. CNBC noted that the company achieved its fastest revenue growth since 2021 as the stock price soared. In the quarter, Pinterest posted revenue of $740 million, up 23% year-over-year, and its adjusted EPS was 20 cents, beating analysts' estimates of 13 cents.
Pinterest says it aims to better serve its Gen Z user base, which is now unusually the fastest growing user group on its site.
“Pinterest is aging, which is unusual for consumer internet applications that typically age as they mature,” Ready said.