Pinterest releases festive holiday brand guide for peak season

Pinterest has published an updated festive season checklist for marketers, covering Pin listings, promotional steps and links to extra guidance as the end-of-year shopping push approaches.

What happened

Social Media Today reported on October 19, 2026, that Pinterest published an updated festive season checklist for brands preparing for the end-of-year shopping push. The overview offers tips for marketers to help them prepare for peak shopping season, including a checklist for promotional success.

According to Pinterest, many people are already planning out their purchases and researching the best deals. Pinners use the app to plan, save ideas and compare products in order to narrow their options well before late November. To help brands meet customers where they are, the guide provides a detailed overview of all the steps brands should take to maximize their Pin listings for the season.

The guide includes a range of usage notes that reiterate the potential of Pinterest in driving discovery and purchase activity. It also includes a detailed overview on how brands can best position themselves for success via Pins, and links to additional information providing practical guidance on how businesses can tap into each element.

Key facts

• Pinterest published an updated festive season checklist, reported by Social Media Today on October 19, 2026.
• The checklist includes tips for peak shopping season and a checklist for promotional success.
• Pinners use the app to plan, save ideas and compare products to narrow their options well before late November.
• The guide covers how brands can maximize Pin listings, drive discovery and purchase activity, and position themselves for success via Pins.
• Pinterest now has 640 million monthly active users, most of whom come to the platform with shopping intent, according to the report.

Our analysis

The timing matters because the end-of-year shopping push is already approaching, and Pinterest’s guidance points to early purchase research rather than last-minute browsing. Since Pinners compare products and narrow options well before late November, brands that wait until the peak promotional window may already be absent from the consideration set. This is likely a different operational reality from platforms where engagement spikes closer to the purchase date.

For operators, the update is less about a new ad product and more about organic and listing-level readiness. Pinterest’s checklist frames Pin listings as a core part of promotional success, suggesting that discoverability, product positioning and saved ideas are central to how purchase activity begins on the platform. The inclusion of links to additional information also suggests Pinterest is trying to reduce the friction of implementation for smaller teams and creators who do not have large paid budgets.

The 640 million monthly active users figure is significant because the source specifically frames most of those users as coming with shopping intent. That does not guarantee conversion, but it suggests a high-relevance audience for brands whose products can be planned, saved or compared. It may be especially relevant for categories where visual discovery and early planning are already part of the customer journey.

What it means for operators

• Audit Pin listings now: treat the pre-late November window as the critical period, because Pinners are already narrowing their options before peak shopping season.
• Use the promotional success checklist to align product titles, visuals and links with how Pinners plan and save ideas rather than only running awareness campaigns.
• Follow the additional information links in the guide to implement each element; this is practical guidance for teams that need to move quickly without a dedicated Pinterest specialist.
• Position content for discovery and purchase activity: make product comparison and saving easy, and ensure brand Pins are optimized for users who arrive with shopping intent.