Pinterest’s India vision board spotlights Gen Z, intent discovery and festive moments

Last Diwali, Bengaluru-based 27-year-old Pooja Ashar was hunting for appetiser ideas to serve friends at her home party. On Pinterest, she found grazing board recipes—alongside ads for platters, wine glasses and décor. So, while she added some easy hors d'oeuvres for her guests, she also ended up buying a few products to complete her spread.

For Pinterest, this kind of intent-driven behaviour is the core proposition. Users arrive with a project in mind—planning a wedding, redecorating a room, or experimenting with beauty looks. Those signals, which the platform receives in the billions each month, create what it calls a high-intent environment for advertisers.

“Pinterest bridges that gap for advertisers to find people in the right place at the right time,” Martin Machinandiarena, managing director, channel sales at Pinterest told Campaign. “The more the advertisers we have on our platform, the better the quality of the search recommendations, where these ads can actually be helpful and non-intrusive, unlike other apps. That's one of the business possibilities we are educating advertisers about in India.”

That education is now underway. Last week, Aleph—the global network of digital experts and Pinterest’s sales partner—hosted the first Pinterest Advertiser Summit in Mumbai. Pieter Jan de Kroon, regional managing director, APAC at Aleph, called the event “a milestone for the Indian market.” He pointed to the growth potential not just in India but across the wider APAC region.

The Mumbai summit marked Pinterest’s formal advertising push in India, with a particular spotlight on the country’s multibillion-dollar wedding industry. The 2025 Pinterest Wedding Trends Report logged 3.8 billion wedding-related searches and 13.4 billion ideas saved globally in one year. Gen Z, notably, is shaping new sub-trends, from registry office weddings to bold colour palettes.

“There are four consistent buckets of inspiration everywhere—clothing, home décor, food, and a fourth that varies,” said Machinandiarena. “In India, that fourth is weddings. And it’s gigantic.”

Global context, local stakes

In the quarter ended June 30, 2025, Pinterest's global monthly active users (MAUs) rose 11% year-on-year to 578 million. It has rolled out advertising in nearly 50 markets, with Aleph as its partner in 37. Revenue climbed 17% to $998.2 million in the same quarter, while ad pricing dropped 25% as more impressions came from lower-CPM international markets.

India is key to changing that equation. Alongside Aleph, Pinterest has set up teams in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru to work directly with advertisers and agencies.

The platform is also seeking a wider demographic base. Women account for around 70% of Pinterest’s user base, according to Statista. But Gen Z is its fastest-growing audience, saving 2.5 times more ideas than other groups.

53% of Pinterest users in India belong to the Gen Z demography.

For this cohort, Pinterest is less a visual search tool and more a private space for self-definition. It allows them to explore without judgement, whether through style experiments, mood boards or future plans.

“It’s very uncommon for any app to suddenly see a new cohort outpace those who’ve been using it from the start,” said Machinandiarena. “Gen Z shop differently. It’s more a discovery journey where they’ve not already decided on the brand. They curate boards and, when they’re ready, make their purchase. Pinterest has become their Zen place—a positive space amid the overstimulation they feel elsewhere.”

He highlighted that Gen Z is the platform's largest and fastest-growing segment in India, with 53% of users belonging to this demography. Gen Y constitute 30% while Gen X make up for 16%. 

Pinterest hopes its AI-driven tools and in-app shopping will sharpen that discovery-to-purchase journey. For advertisers, the promise is a channel where intent can be matched with purchase decisions more seamlessly.

Intent as the funnel

More than 96% of Pinterest searches are unbranded. The company positions this as a key differentiator, framing the platform as an intent-discovery stage rather than a place for distraction.

“The magic on Pinterest is those high-level, unbranded signals,” said Machinandiarena. “When people search for healthy snacks, for example, our algorithm learns and recommends the right brands. Users end up getting richer recommendations better suited to what they seek.”

For smaller brands, entry can be straightforward: setting up a free business account and uploading a product catalogue. Pinterest Predicts, its annual trend-forecasting tool, claims an 80% success rate in anticipating cultural shifts. Its AI-powered Performance+ tool is aimed at optimising ad outcomes across advertiser sizes.

Pinterest hopes its AI-driven tools and in-app shopping will sharpen that discovery-to-purchase journey.

“Education is at the core of what Aleph does,” said de Kroon. “We run programmes for advertisers large and small, helping them understand Pinterest’s role in the digital media mix. That includes workshops for verticals like fashion, beauty or travel.”

Festivals as test case

In India, festivals account for 30–40% of annual retail sales, making them critical for advertisers. Pinterest is pitching itself as a natural fit for these moments of inspiration.

“Unlike other platforms, Pinterest is where users go for inspiration—whether for home décor, fashion, gifting or recipes,” said de Kroon. “We build local teams of specialists who work closely with advertisers and agencies to tailor campaigns for cultural moments. With full-funnel solutions, we can support awareness, engagement, and even conversions for e-commerce platforms.”

Localisation is central to Aleph’s India strategy. Beyond its three-city presence, it has Pinterest specialists across APAC, from Korea and Hong Kong to Thailand and Vietnam, to help advertisers craft campaigns that resonate culturally and linguistically.

Scaling such personalisation in a fragmented market is complex. Pinterest is leaning on AI to refine recommendations, analysing billions of pins to predict user preferences.

“We’ve seen our traffic quadruple in the last couple of years because we’re getting better at showing the right content,” said Machinandiarena. “AI helps us understand style preferences and surface relevant pins. That translates into users finding things they like and eventually shopping with our partners.”

Role of agencies

For Pinterest to gain traction in India, agencies will be critical. Both executives underscored partnerships with networks and independents to drive adoption and embed insights into campaign planning.

“Agencies are a crucial part of the process,” said Machinandiarena. “We partner with them so they can educate clients about the opportunities, whether through Pinterest Predicts or Pinterest Presents.”

De Kroon added, “We conduct workshops with agencies, certify media planners, and provide insights on users and trends. Independent agencies, not just networks, are key to our strategy because they often work with clients who are laser-focused on driving results. Pinterest can help those advertisers scale.”

(Left to right): Shuhel Pistawala, MD-India of Aleph, Martin Machinandiarena, MD-Channel Sales of Pinterest, Saniya Bijlani, business head of Aleph and Pieter Jan de Kroon, MD- APAC at Aleph with Aman Wadhwa, head of partner sales-SEA at Pinterest.

Aleph’s rebrand of MediaDonuts—the digital arm acquired from Entravision Communications—into its APAC operations last year adds another layer, said de Kroon. “This gives us access to global resources and helps us manage our Pinterest partnership more effectively.”

India’s contradictions

Pinterest faces the same contradictions as other global platforms entering India. It must prove ROI in a market where e-commerce and short-video apps dominate discovery budgets. It needs to persuade startups that the platform is worth their attention, while balancing its still largely female user base with the demands of Gen Z. 

Its edge lies in intent. Users come with projects, not distractions. Most searches are unbranded, giving smaller advertisers an opening. Weddings and festivals provide cultural hooks that are difficult to replicate elsewhere.

The Mumbai summit was the company’s first significant step to reframe itself in India as more than a lifestyle board. Through Aleph, it now has a local footprint, AI tools to personalise campaigns, and a message for agencies.

Whether Indian advertisers buy in will depend on local outcomes—whether Pinterest helps a jeweller in Jaipur, a D2C snack brand in Surat, or a fashion label in Delhi capture consumer intent before it flows to rivals.

The larger question is whether Pinterest’s arrival signals a shift in how platforms define their roles in a crowded ecosystem. Discovery, intent and cultural context are the levers it wants to claim. The upcoming festive season will reveal whether that’s enough to convert inspiration into transactions at Indian scale.