Pinterest's 2026 holiday research puts numbers behind that behavior:
Those are Pinterest-reported platform findings, not a promise for every business. But they point to something important: Pinterest deserves to be evaluated as a planning and decision channel, not dismissed as a digital mood board.
What “decision-ready” really means
A decision-ready shopper is not always ready to purchase this second. They may be discovering a style, comparing ideas, saving products, building a list, narrowing several options, or returning to an idea when it is time to act.
Pinterest reported that nearly two-thirds of its monthly users are likely to create holiday wish lists they revisit later. It also reported that products saved on Pinterest are twice as likely to be purchased. A save is not a guaranteed sale, but it can signal that an idea earned a place in someone's plan.
Why visual search matters
Traditional text search begins with language. You have to know what to type. Visual search can begin before the user has the right words. Someone may know the color, shape, room, outfit, or aesthetic they want without knowing the product category.
That does not make keywords irrelevant. Pinterest still recommends keyword-rich Pin titles, descriptions, board titles, board descriptions, and accurate product metadata. The stronger strategy combines a visual that makes the idea understandable, language connected to a real planning need, and a destination that delivers what the Pin promised.
What full-funnel Pinterest requires
Discovery
The business appears when people search for an idea, moment, project, product type, or outcome. Pinterest says 96% of its top searches are unbranded, creating an opportunity for unfamiliar businesses to enter the decision early.
Consideration
The person saves, compares, clicks, explores a collection, or returns later. Useful curation can organize choices by recipient, interest, price, use case, or occasion—the way the customer makes the decision.
Conversion
The person has a clear path to shop, sign up, inquire, book, or purchase. That requires a useful destination, accurate pricing and availability, a working mobile experience, a clear CTA, tracking, and current product data where shopping campaigns are involved.
The catalog is part of the marketing
For ecommerce brands, Pinterest Catalogs can create product Pins at scale and make those products eligible for shopping ads. Pinterest recommends a business account, claimed website, Pinterest tag, visible policies, accurate product data, prompt feed-error repair, and complete metadata.
Product rich Pins can sync information from a website, but only product Pins created through Catalogs can be promoted as shopping ads. That is why a Pinterest strategy cannot stop at pretty graphics. Product data and the destination experience are part of the campaign.
How could one campaign report 21× ROAS?
Pinterest reports that Capilano Suspension Bridge Park used Carousel ads with Performance+ Targeting to sell tickets, producing a reported 21× ROAS and a CPA 64% below target.
Those measurements answer different questions. A 21× ROAS means Pinterest attributed roughly $21 in ticket revenue for each $1 of ad spend. A CPA 64% below target means the tracked cost per acquisition was 64% lower than the goal set for the campaign.
The useful lesson is the structure: a visually compelling seasonal experience, a trackable ticket purchase, multi-card storytelling, and automated targeting. The number itself should never be used as a promise.
What businesses should do
Make sure the audience actually searches, saves, plans, or compares this kind of offer.
Build around real decisions, not generic posting.
Claim the site, verify the mobile path, and measure the right actions.
Match visuals, language, boards, links, availability, and pricing.
Use saves as one signal—not a substitute for qualified traffic or revenue.
Pinterest can influence the path from plan to purchase. It works as a system when visual discovery, search, product information, measurement, and the destination support one another.