# Pinterest and Visual Search: Getting Products Discovered

URL: https://ecomchannels.com/insights/pinterest-visual-search-product-discovery/
Category: Social commerce
Updated: 2026-10-30

> How Pinterest and visual search help Australian retailers get products discovered, what Pinterest's own data shows and how to set up Pins that drive traffic.

Pinterest is a visual search engine more than a social feed: people arrive planning a purchase, often without a brand in mind, and search with images as much as words. Pinterest says it handles [over 80 billion searches a month, most of them visual, and generates 1.7 billion monthly outbound clicks](https://s204.q4cdn.com/369458543/files/doc_financials/2025/q4/PINS-Q4-2025-Transcript.pdf). For Australian retailers in home, fashion, beauty, gifts, garden and DIY, that makes Pinterest a steady source of high-intent traffic, provided your product images and data are set up to be found.

## Why Pinterest behaves differently from other social networks

On most social platforms, people scroll content from accounts they follow. On Pinterest, they search, save and plan. Pinterest told investors that [around 50% of searches carry commercial intent](https://s204.q4cdn.com/369458543/files/doc_financials/2025/q4/PINS-Q4-2025-Transcript.pdf).

Searches also tend to be open-ended. Pinterest's Australian business site reports that [97% of top searches on Pinterest are non-branded](https://business.pinterest.com/insights/shopping-on-pinterest-australia/): people know what they want to do, such as "small balcony garden" or "neutral living room", but not which brand to buy. That gives smaller retailers a fair chance against bigger names, because relevance and imagery matter more than brand recognition.

Pins also tend to last longer than feed posts. A product Pin can keep surfacing in search and related-Pin feeds well after it is published, which suits evergreen and seasonal products that are searched for every year.

## The Australian audience

Pinterest is smaller in Australia than Facebook or Instagram but large enough to matter. DataReportal reports [5.68 million Pinterest users in Australia in late 2025, equal to 21.0% of the population, with ad reach up 7.5% over the year](https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2026-australia). The audience skews female: 72.3% of Pinterest's Australian ad audience was female.

Globally the platform is still growing. Pinterest reported [640 million monthly active users in the second quarter of 2026, up 11% year on year](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1506293/000150629326000102/q2-26xpressrelease.htm), its 11th consecutive quarter of double-digit user growth.

## How visual search works for shoppers

Visual search lets people search with an image instead of words. With Pinterest Lens, a shopper can photograph an object or upload a screenshot and see visually similar products. When Pinterest added a Shop tab to Lens results, it said [around half of the items snapped through Lens belong to fashion or home decor](https://newsroom-archive.pinterest.com/shop-with-your-camera-pinterest-launches-shop-tab-on-lens-visual-search-results), with prints and artwork, tops, dresses, shoes, vases, mirrors and rugs among the most shopped.

Visual search also suits how people shop for looks rather than items. Someone who likes a room photo may not know the name of the lamp or rug in it, but they can select it in the image and see similar products for sale. A retailer whose catalogue is connected to Pinterest can appear in those results even if the shopper has never heard of the brand.

For retailers, this changes what "optimisation" means. Matching is driven by what the product looks like, so clear, well-lit product images on clean backgrounds, plus lifestyle images showing the product in context, give the system more to work with. Accurate titles, descriptions and attributes in your catalogue then help Pinterest match the image to the right search.

## Setting up Pinterest to drive traffic and sales

1. **Claim a business account and website.** This gives you analytics and links Pins from your site back to your profile.
2. **Upload your catalogue.** Pinterest Catalogues turn your product feed into shoppable product Pins with live price and availability. Keep the feed synced so out-of-stock items do not get promoted.
3. **Install the Pinterest tag.** It tracks conversions and lets you build audiences of site visitors.
4. **Write for search.** Use the words people actually search in Pin titles and descriptions: product type, style, material, room or occasion.
5. **Use several images per product.** A white-background shot, a lifestyle image and a vertical image suit different placements.
6. **Pin consistently and seasonally.** Pinterest users plan ahead, so publish seasonal content weeks before the event, such as Christmas decor in October.
7. **Test shopping ads once organic Pins are working.** Pinterest has reported that brands using its shopping ads [drive 3x the conversion and sales lift and twice the positive incremental return on ad spend](https://business.pinterest.com/insights/shopping-on-pinterest-australia/). That is Pinterest's own figure, so validate it against your own data.

For how Pinterest fits with other networks, see [the state of social commerce in Australia](https://ecomchannels.com/insights/social-commerce-australia-2026/) and [AI content calendars for retail social media](https://ecomchannels.com/insights/ai-social-media-content-calendar-retailers/).

## Key figures

- [Over 80 billion monthly searches on Pinterest, most of them visual, and 1.7 billion monthly outbound clicks](https://s204.q4cdn.com/369458543/files/doc_financials/2025/q4/PINS-Q4-2025-Transcript.pdf) (Pinterest, 2026).
- [640 million global monthly active users, up 11%](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1506293/000150629326000102/q2-26xpressrelease.htm) (Pinterest Q2 2026).
- [5.68 million Pinterest users in Australia, 21.0% of the population](https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2026-australia) (DataReportal, 2026).
- [97% of top searches on Pinterest are non-branded](https://business.pinterest.com/insights/shopping-on-pinterest-australia/) (Pinterest Business, 2021).

## How eComChannels helps

Pinterest rewards good images, accurate product data and steady publishing, and eComChannels covers all three. [AI graphics](https://ecomchannels.com/products/ai-graphics/) creates image sets for each channel, including vertical lifestyle formats suited to Pins, from your approved product imagery, so you do not need a separate shoot for Pinterest.

[AI listing optimisation](https://ecomchannels.com/products/ai-listing-optimisation/) keeps titles, attributes and descriptions accurate in one master product record, which improves the data behind your product Pins as well as your marketplace listings. [AI social media outreach](https://ecomchannels.com/products/ai-social-media-marketing/) drafts Pins and seasonal content on a schedule alongside your other networks, and your team approves before publishing, so Pinterest gets regular attention without becoming another manual job.

[Book a demo or start a 30-day free trial](https://ecomchannels.com/book-a-demo/) to see it with your products.

## FAQ

### Is Pinterest worth it for Australian retailers?

For visual, planning-led categories such as home, fashion, beauty, gifts and garden, usually yes. Around one in five Australians use it, searches are mostly non-branded, and Pins keep sending traffic long after they are published.

### What is visual search?

Visual search lets shoppers search with an image instead of typing. On Pinterest, Lens matches a photo or screenshot to visually similar products. Clear product images and accurate product data help your items appear in those results.

### How often should I pin?

Consistency matters more than volume. Pin new products and fresh images every week, and publish seasonal content several weeks before the occasion, since Pinterest users plan ahead.

## Sources
- Pinterest Announces Second Quarter 2026 Results, Pinterest, Inc. (SEC filing) (2026): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1506293/000150629326000102/q2-26xpressrelease.htm
- Pinterest Q4 2025 earnings call transcript, Pinterest, Inc. (2026): https://s204.q4cdn.com/369458543/files/doc_financials/2025/q4/PINS-Q4-2025-Transcript.pdf
- Digital 2026: Australia, DataReportal (2026): https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2026-australia
- Shopping on Pinterest: Go from idea to 'I did', Pinterest Business (2021): https://business.pinterest.com/insights/shopping-on-pinterest-australia/
- Shop with your camera: Pinterest launches Shop tab on Lens visual search results, Pinterest Newsroom (2020): https://newsroom-archive.pinterest.com/shop-with-your-camera-pinterest-launches-shop-tab-on-lens-visual-search-results