According to a study released by market research company Lab42, 92 percent of Pinterest users said the social network makes the holidays less stressful. In fact, 27 percent saying that the pin-board style website makes the holidays 'much less stressful'.
What the heck are these people finding on Pinterest that they can't catch a Tweet or Facebook post about, anyway?
Holiday ideas. All sorts of 'em. The top three Pinteresr categories browsed during the months of November and December are:
1) DIY & Crafts,
2) Holidays & Events, and
3) Food & Drink
The number one reason Pinterest users are using the site during the holidays is for holiday recipe ideas. 83 percent of pinners are recipe sharing, while 74 percent are on the network to get gift ideas.
In total, 94 percent said Pinterest has changed their preparation for the holidays in some way. And holiday users of the social network drive the highest traffic of the year. The majority of Pinterest users overall spend more time on the site during the holiday months. Over half of respondents (54 percent) use Pinterest more frequently during November and December, and 52 percent stay for longer periods of time on each visit.
"Knowing that brands are always trying to stay on top of holiday trends, we wanted to closely examine how consumers use Pinterest during the holiday season, " said Lab42 Co-Founder, Jonathan Pirc. "We found that they rely on Pinterest to help with ideas for holiday cooking and baking, gifts, decor and more. Brands should jump on the opportunity to incorporate visual elements into their overall marketing and social media strategies moving forward."
Nearly one in five social network users spend more money during the holidays because of things they see on Pinterest, and 59 percent specifically said they have purchased something during the holidays that they saw on Pinterest. On the other hand, fifteen percent said they spend less money by using Pinterest, likely due to DIY projects that cost less than the original, and 66 percent said Pinterest doesn't affect their holiday spending.
The survey was conducted among 500 Pinterest users in the United States, ages 18 and up, from November 13-14, 2013.