Pinterest just dropped their biggest updates of the year at Pinterest Presents 2025—and this time, the stakes feel higher than ever for small businesses. Over 578 million people now use Pinterest every month, and Gen Z alone makes up more than half of that audience. What’s more: Pinterest says users are 70% more likely to follow through on a purchase after discovering a product on the platform. That’s pretty amazing!
This isn’t just a fun stat, it’s a signal. Pinterest isn’t just a place to get inspired anymore (we’ve been saying that for years!). It’s become a full-funnel engine for turning customer discovery into sales. Pinterest has so much user trend data rooted in what people are already planning and saving, it is becoming one of the most predictive ad platforms out there.
This year’s event spotlighted how Pinterest plans to improve their effectiveness for businesses: smarter visual search, AI-powered automation, tighter integrations, and tools that help marketers connect with buyers earlier and convert them more efficiently.
Here are the five updates from Pinterest Presents 2025 that you should know about—and how to apply them.
1. Visual Search Keeps Getting Smarter
What changed: Pinterest doubled down on visual-first discovery. Boards will see updates that make them more personalized, shoppable, and interactive. That means when people save inspiration, they’ll also be nudged toward products they can actually buy, like yours!
Why it matters: Unlike Google, which is keyword-driven, Pinterest search starts with images. That’s a huge advantage for businesses with strong visuals (fashion, home décor, food, beauty). If you’re uploading your catalog and optimizing your product images, you’ll get more placements in relevant searches and shopping moments.
Action for small businesses: Upload your entire catalog (and keep it fresh). This ensures Pinterest can pull your products into visual search results and boards where buyers are actively saving ideas.
2. The Revamped Trends Tool
What changed: Pinterest Trends now offers:
- Predictive insights up to 90 days in advance
- Real-time shopping insights (currently in testing)
- Editor’s Picks highlighting what’s hot right now
Why it matters: Trends on Pinterest last almost twice as long as trends on other platforms, which gives small businesses more time to capitalize. Instead of chasing “viral moments” that disappear in days, you can align your campaigns with durable, predictive trends.
Action for small businesses: Check the Trends tool regularly. If you see searches for “holiday hosting tablescapes” trending, update your marketing and content strategy.
3. Full Funnel Ad Options
What changed: Pinterest expanded Performance+ tools with features like:
- Automated image cropping (AI does the formatting for you)
- ROAS bidding to automatically optimize toward revenue goals
- Local inventory ads showing nearby pickup/delivery options
- Automatic display of promotions and price drops (imported from Shopify or set in bulk editor)
- “Where-to-buy” links so shoppers can choose their favorite retailer
Why it matters: With these tools Pinterest is aiming to make a stronger full-funnel advertising platform, not just top-of-funnel inspiration. You can run campaigns to drive awareness, then re-target for conversions with automation that lowers CPAs and boosts clicks. Performance + has driven mixed results for our clients in the past, but we are intrigued and excited to see how these changes will be implemented.
Action for small businesses: Always do A/B testing and optimizing to make sure your ads are performing. Test Performance+ features now. Even smaller budgets can see efficiency gains when automation is handling bidding and creative optimization.
Case study: A lighting brand we manage went from $19/month in sales to over $22k/month once we dialed in their Pinterest ads. That’s the power of getting the right creative and targeting mix.
4. Stronger Partner Integrations
What changed: Pinterest announced deeper integrations with:
- Ecommerce & workflow platforms: Shopify, Smartly, MikMak, Pear Commerce, AppsFlyer
- Measurement tools: Northbeam and Triple Whale
Why it matters: Small businesses often struggle with tracking. These integrations simplify catalog uploads, automate workflows, and (most importantly) make ROI clearer. With more accurate data, you can confidently scale what’s working.
Action for small businesses: If you’re on Shopify, double-check your Pinterest integration. A clean connection ensures promotions, inventory, and tracking sync seamlessly—saving you time and guesswork.
5. The Path to Performance Playbook
What changed: Pinterest released a new Path to Performance guide, giving marketers a clear framework for campaign success. The four pillars are:
- Strengthen your signals (tag, catalog, conversions API)
- Optimize campaign setup (Performance+, simplified targeting, deep linking)
- Improve creative (the “4Cs”: Context, Content, Craft, Color)
- Test and iterate (brands who test saw 2.2x higher action intent)
Why it matters: Pinterest is spelling out exactly what works. Following this roadmap helps small businesses avoid wasted spend and align with strategies already proven to drive results.
Action for small businesses: Use the Path to Performance as a checklist. Make sure your catalog is live, your tag is firing, your creative follows the 4Cs, and you’re always testing at least two versions You can read the whole document here.
The Bottom Line
Pinterest is stepping up as a full-funnel growth platform—not just a place for inspiration boards. For small businesses, that means a chance to get discovered earlier, stay top of mind longer, and convert when people are ready to buy.
If you’re a small business owner, my advice is simple: start testing now. The earlier you lean into these new tools, the more momentum you’ll have going into the holiday season.
And if you’d rather not worry about catalogs, creative tweaks, or figuring out the Trends tool—I’d love to help. At PinHouss, we specialize in running Pinterest ads and organic strategies that actually move the needle for small businesses.
👉 Ready to see what Pinterest can do for your business? Schedule a free discovery call!
