By Donitra Clemons
- Pinterest’s new search technology lets users filter results by skin tone ahead of IPO
- Advertisers to further capitalize on the $1.3T African-American annual consumer spend
Pinterest, a social media network known for its emphasis on visual discovery and digital inspiration boards, recently rolled out a new technology within the platform to filter hair and beauty searches based on skin tone. As many tech companies struggle with diversity and inclusivity, has Pinterest unlocked the perfect way to tap into the $1.3 trillion that African American consumers spend?
Why This Matters: The black community spent $54 million in the ethnic hair and beauty industry, something that hasn’t gone unnoticed by platforms like Pinterest. Simply stated this translates to Black dollars accounting for about 86% of the market.
Pinterest’s implementation of more customization for beauty search results, acknowledges the need to nurture and sustain a relationship with audiences of color. The company attributes the new feature to their “technical and Inclusion & Diversity teams working closely together.”
Black dollars account for about 86% of the ethnic hair and beauty market
With posts from brands making up 60% of Pinterest’s content, the new feature could increase engagement and brand stickiness with sizable niche audiences known for setting trends.“Our research shows that Black consumer choices have a ‘cool factor’ that has created a halo effect, influencing not just consumers of color but the mainstream as well,” said Cheryl Grace, Senior Vice President of U.S. Strategic Community Alliances and Consumer Engagement, Nielsen.
Situational Awareness: This is an added advertiser attraction for a platform that already has stealth mobile search and machine learning capabilities. Ultimately, it’s diversity push leads Pinterest to a boosted bottom line and better poised to go public later this year.
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