You can sell on Pinterest by connecting your business website to product Pins, then using organic discovery—and, if eligible, shopping ads—to send shoppers to your own store to buy. For a small or metadata-ready store, product rich Pins may be enough; a catalog is the better route for managing many products or running shopping ads. You remain responsible for your website, product information, orders, and customer service.
1. Choose the right way to sell
This guide is for a business selling its own products through its website. Pinterest offers two main ways to put those products on the platform: upload a product catalog or let Pinterest read product information from your site to create product rich Pins. A catalog is also the route to product groups and shopping ads; rich Pins sync from website metadata but cannot be promoted as shopping ads. Compare the options before preparing your store:
| Route | Best fit | What to consider |
|---|---|---|
| Catalog product Pins | A store with many products, a need to group items, or plans to advertise products as shopping ads. | Requires a product data source and ongoing attention to feed accuracy. Setup prerequisites and regional availability apply. |
| Product rich Pins | A seller with product pages that expose supported Open Graph or Schema.org metadata, especially a smaller or website-led setup. | Product details sync from the site, but rich Pins cannot be promoted as shopping ads. |
Check Pinterest’s current Catalogs availability and setup guidance for your region before choosing a workflow. Pinterest’s published catalog guide says a catalog can contain up to 20 million products; this is a platform capacity limit, not a recommended catalog size or a sales forecast.
Affiliate links are a different activity
If you recommend another company’s products through an affiliate program, you are acting as a creator or publisher, not listing your own store’s catalog. Pinterest’s Merchant Guidelines state: “Merchants must not be affiliate marketers.” Affiliate creators follow separate commercial-content and spam rules, including being transparent about commercial relationships and avoiding repetitive or very high-volume affiliate Pins. See Pinterest’s Merchant Guidelines and Commercial and Branded Content Guidelines.
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2. Set up a Pinterest business account
Use a business account for a retail catalog. A business profile is also required for Pinterest creator tools, though those tools are separate from a merchant’s catalog setup. If you already have a personal account, review Pinterest’s account options and choose the business setup that fits your needs. Account type alone does not guarantee merchant verification, catalog acceptance, or access to every feature.
3. Get your store website ready
Before connecting products, claim your website in Pinterest and install the Pinterest tag. Make the following information easy for a customer to find on your site:
- Business contact details.
- Shipping terms, including delivery expectations.
- Refund and return policy.
- Accurate product pages with clear descriptions and expectations.
Pinterest’s retail catalog setup requires a business account, claimed website, Pinterest tag, and a site that meets its merchant guidelines. Merchants remain responsible for customer service, delivery, disputes, and clear product expectations. Check the live Merchant Guidelines before launch; the policy page preview notes revisions scheduled to take effect November 12, 2026, so confirm which version applies when you set up your account.
4. Prepare accurate product information and images
For a catalog, Pinterest lists these required product fields: id, title, description, link, image_link, price, and availability. Products with variants also need item_group_id to associate related options. Match the destination link and image to the specific product, and keep prices and stock status current.
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Pinterest lists TSV, CSV, XML (RSS 2.0 or ATOM 1.0), and Google Sheets among supported data-source formats. Product-data specifications can change, so use Pinterest’s current catalog requirements when preparing your feed. For rich Pins, ensure product pages expose supported Open Graph or Schema.org metadata so Pinterest can sync details from the site.
5. Submit the catalog and resolve errors
For a catalog workflow, provide a hosted product data source or submit a manual upload. Pinterest can access a hosted feed daily, while manual uploads are processed when submitted. Neither method means every item is automatically accepted: review catalog diagnostics and correct feed errors, broken links, missing fields, inaccurate prices, or stale availability. Continue to keep the source data current after setup.
The precise setup screens and feature access can vary by account and region. Follow the current instructions in Pinterest Business Help rather than assuming one universal click-by-click flow.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.6. Organize and feature your product Pins
Save product Pins to a public board to feature them on your profile. If you use a catalog, product groups let you organize catalog items for management and campaigns. Pinterest says out-of-stock products are not distributed organically or through shopping ads, so update availability promptly when inventory changes. See its guidance on creating product groups.
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7. Promote eligible products
Pinterest distinguishes organic distribution from paid promotion: product Pins can appear organically, but only product Pins created with its Catalogs tool can be promoted as shopping ads. Product rich Pins cannot be promoted that way. A catalog therefore matters if shopping ads are part of your plan; it does not guarantee ad access, distribution, or sales. Review Pinterest’s rich Pin guidance and shopping overview for current details.
8. Measure results and improve the setup
Use the analytics available in your business account—such as Pin stats, Analytics, Audience Insights, and Conversion Insights—to examine engagement and conversions. Compare actual account results with your goals, and use what you learn to refine product imagery, descriptions, boards, and campaign choices. Pinterest’s guidance does not establish a universal sales increase or earnings outcome, so judge the channel by your own measured results.
What if your store is on Shopify?
Pinterest documents a connection for Shopify stores that links a Shopify product feed to Pinterest. Check Pinterest’s current Shopify connection instructions and your account’s regional availability before relying on it. This is an integration option, not a guarantee of approval or a substitute for accurate product data and merchant-compliant policies.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
