Right now? I’m supposed to be writing this blog post, but I’m choosing distraction in my usual mind-clearing sanctuary: nestled deep in my Pinterest Boards. While my intentions are innocent enough, the data speaks for itself: I am likely already shopping.

Let’s talk commerce. Pinterest is a place to save all of the goods you talked yourself out of buying the first time (only to buy them later when the self-restraint wears off). That’s bad news for me, but pretty terrific news for merchants.

We partnered with Pinterest to gather data about use of the platform, as it relates to commerce. We analyzed Shopify store traffic and sales. We made this really cool infographic.

The results are in: if you sell online, you should be on Pinterest. Let’s dive deeper.

Purchasing Through Discovery

As a busy entrepreneur, social media is only a small fraction of the work you juggle every day. It’s important to spend your resources wisely. You’re connecting with your customers on Facebook with one hand, packaging goods with the other, all while hands-free Facetiming your accountant. You’re already wearing all of the hats. But, make room on the hat rack – Pinterest reins supreme in the kingdom of social commerce.

The numbers don’t lie: Pinterest can be a really powerful driver of traffic and big-ticket sales. The average order value of sales coming from Pinterest is $50 – higher than any other major social platform. Cha-ching.

87% of Pinterest users say they have purchased something they discovered while Pinning.

I admit to being one such Pinner, wooed by potted succulents, wine bottles cradled in leather bike straps fastened to brightly hued fixies, urban frenchies in tartan outerwear. The act of Pinning rarely stops at categorizing and hoarding. Possible side effects include euphoria-induced credit card use.

Why? Pinterest is window shopping and cart abandonment with a catch: walking or clicking away isn’t a cure. Coveted finds sit safely inside beautifully curated Boards for future, well, coveting. Rich Pins also lurk inside inboxes, coaxing us back with notifications about our finds.

Two million people save these super-powered Rich Pins every single day. They have extra info – like stock availability and price – baked right in, making them even easier to shop.

Three words: add to cart.

The Pinterest Audience

Mobile is catching fire, drawing the internetting masses out from behind desks. Clicking, buying, and Pinning are more often happening on the go. In a Shopify analysis, we found that mobile orders from Pinterest has increased by 140% since 2013. Mobile now accounts for a whopping 80% of all orders from Pinterest.

“Who run the world? Girls,” says the hand-lettered print I just Pinned to a board called “Cheeky”. Well, we’re running Pinterest, at least. But that’s changing, as male users are on the rise. In fact, the number of guys using the platform doubled between 2013 and 2014. Dude, Where’s my Vintage Muscle Car Board?

Gender isn’t the only demographic experiencing a data upset. Pinterest is seeing more global users in a community that is generally dominated by the US. Orders generated from Pinterest increased by 130% in non-US countries from 2013 to 2014.

73 million users log into Pinterest each month. The population of the Republic of Pinterest outnumbers that of the United Kingdom! Now that we know that the platform’s users are not entirely women residing in the US, those are 73 million reasons that your business should be using Pinterest to reach your customers.

How to Grow your Business on Pinterest

Invest a little sweat in Pinterest up front, and your Pins will continue doing the work for you. The average Pin is repinned 11 times, and 50% of a Pin’s clicks and views happen more than 3 months after inception. That’s why Rich Pins are incredibly important: the critical details about your product travel with it, and stay updated.

We’ve spelled out some pretty compelling reasons to add Pinterest to your marketing mix. But how do you get started? Newbs should follow these first steps:

• Mean Business: Be sure you have a Pinterest business account to get access to our Rich Pin integration and Pinterest analytics
• Get the Pin It Button: Most Shopify themes already include Pinterest integration, meaning your product pages will have the Pin It button by default
• Be Descriptive: Craft thoughtful, accurate, and detailed descriptions to your page, Boards, Pins and product pages