Millennials and Gen Z represent the fastest growing Pinterest demographics. But, notably, newcomers to Canada are making a significant contribution to those demos. To find out more about the influence of newcomers to its platform, Pinterest commissioned Leger to conduct a study exploring the characteristics of newcomers that intersect with those of Pinterest.

Kristie Painting, Pinterest’s country manager for Canada, says newcomers began emerging as a key interest area for Pinterest’s advertiser base and they were really interested in knowing more. “In part, I think it’s because newcomers are driving Canadian growth. They’re a very important cohort of the Canadian population and are really influencing not only Canada’s demographic makeup, but they’re also really influencing culture. We wanted to ensure that our advertisers have access to the right kind of information so that they could make informed decisions about where and how to advertise.”

According to Comscore, around 43% of newcomers to Canada are active monthly on Pinterest, a figure that escalates to 60% for those during their first year in the country. Newcomers will pass Gen Z as Canada’s largest growth segment this year. (Source: Statistics Canada)

Painting says many newcomers were actually Pinterest users before they left their home country and came to Canada, so they know Pinterest is a good visual search engine and resource for all aspects of life. “What we learned is that newcomers really are leaning into Pinterest specifically for ideas and for inspiration, and for improving their lives. So, when they come to Canada, and there’s so many purchase decisions ahead of them, it becomes a natural place to search for what they want to do in terms of organizing their apartment, finding their next bank or car.”

The Leger report found that newcomers engage with Pinterest for a multitude of reasons, including finding inspiration (42%), keeping up with trends (24%), and discovering life-enhancing ideas (29%).