Pinterest has released a new report into how women aged 25-54 use the platform, a segment they’re calling ‘the deciders’.

Why is this group ‘the deciders’?

“[Women aged 25-54] make the majority of purchase decisions in US households. They’re responsible for 80% of household buying, and they control more than 50% of the wealth in the US.”

And Pinterest has some pretty impressive stats on offer – first off, Pinterest says that their platform reaches 83% of all women 25-54 in the US - more than Instagram, Snap and Twitter. That seems like a lot, especially considering Pinterest’s 200 million monthly active users pales in comparison to Facebook’s scale (Pinterest refers to comScore data for this information).

The majority of stats in the report come from Pinterest’s own data – the platform commissioned a report into this segment to get a better idea of exactly how and why they use Pins. Primarily, the research shows, active Pinners use the app to plan and get new ideas.

As noted by Pinterest:

“85% of women told us they use Pinterest to plan small or big life moments, compared with Facebook 53% and Instagram 44%”

Among those moments?

• Finding recipe ideas for meals and snacks (67%)
• Taking a vacation in the next 6 months (50%)
• Having their ideal home in the next five years (43%)
• Weekly workout routines (35%)
• Seeking inspiration for kids’ birthday parties or other large parties (34%)

As you can see, the scale of those ideas varies significantly, which gives you some perspective on the wide range of opportunity on the platform. While Pinterest is often just seen as a fashion and craft focused network, there’s a lot more going on than you might assume, and a lot more ways for marketers in various segments to reach their ideal audience.

And another important note – Pinterest’s research also shows that 78% of users say that content from brands is helpful in their discovery process.

In variance to other platforms, where promotional content is being increasingly limited in reach, Pinterest users actually welcome it, because they come to the network with less of a social mindset. Indeed, Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann has noted several times that Pinterest is not a social network, it’s a discovery platform, and that’s a key point to keep in mind when considering the brand potential of Pins.

Some other key notes from Pinterest’s data:

• 58% of deciders say Pinterest helps them make shopping and purchasing decisions
• 77% of deciders on Pinterest are primary grocery shoppers and are 2x more likely to spend time researching food or drink ideas 
• Pinterest reaches 70% of deciders who’ve purchased jewelry, watches or accessories in the past 6 months
• 52% of deciders have spent $500 or more on beauty purchases in the past six months, with some 51% of those being exposed to new brands on the platform

As you can see, there’s a wide variance in shopping use cases on Pinterest – if you’ve not considered the potential of the platform before, it’s worth another look, given its broadening application in the product discovery process, particularly in this audience segment.

The full Pinterest ‘How to Connect with The Deciders’ report is available here, and is definitely worth a look.