Pinterest collaborates with American Express on a digital Shop to support small businesses this summer

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Today, Pinterest and American Express have teamed up to curate “The Comeback Edit” on The Pinterest Shop - the shop’s sixth edit featuring 20+ merchants that are selling items Pinterest users are looking for as they enter this new stage of post-pandemic life. From pottery by East Fork and home decor from Coming Soon, to fresh manicures from Chillhouse and beautifully prepped skin courtesy of Pholk Beauty, this newest edit of the Pinterest Shop has something for everyone. Each product was selected for those who are planning their “future me” and how they want to show up in the world as it begins to slowly reopen. 

The Comeback Edit is inspired by Pinterest searches for “how to support small business quote” which increased +50% as Pinners seek out individual makers and companies to shop online1. 

“We survived the challenges brought to our business and to ourselves as entrepreneurs in learning the art of pivoting, says Jennifer Peets, co-founder of Naked Bar Soap Co. COVID has brought many destructions in all forms humanly possible, but it taught us not to rest on our laurels, adapt, move on quickly, and most importantly lean on the community and the village that surrounds you that will help raise your business - for that we are grateful. We often say adversity is the breakfast of champions and during the year 2020 we had adversity for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and 2 snacks." 

Pinterest Shop

Supporting small businesses has always been at Pinterest’s core, and as we recover from the COVID-19 crisis, this is more important than ever. In fact, according to the Shop Small Summer Study from American Express, 47% of small businesses2 say they are concerned about their business’ profits over the next few months when their regular customers travel during the summer. And 75% of consumers say they would shop with small businesses more often if there were more ways to do so. That’s why American Express is collaborating with Pinterest to make it easy for consumers to support small businesses this summer, as part of the company’s year-round efforts. Shopping small over summer weekends alone can help inject over $27 billion into the national economy3. 

“At American Express we understand how vital small businesses are to our communities and are always looking for opportunities to provide consumers with interactive and immersive ways to Shop Small,” says Walter Frye, Vice President of Global Brand Engagement & Design at American Express. “Inspiration plays a critical role in the decision process and we know the Shop Small Summer Pinterest Shop will inspire consumers looking to support small businesses this summer.” 

The Pinterest Shop was launched in November 2019 with a selection of small businesses to shop from for the holiday season and has since featured more than 150+ small businesses. Over the last three years, the Shop has curated edits for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day - featuring Lauren Conrad’s eco-friendly brand The Little Market, for National Black Business Month featuring Black-owned fashion and beauty brands (featuring supermodel Liya Kebede), a selection of the most searched holiday gift ideas on Pinterest (from 120+ merchants) and last March, a women-owned small businesses edit from around the world for International Women’s Day.

A look at some of the featured brands

AmEx Shop Small

  • Pholk Beauty is soul food for the skin. Founder Niambi Cacchioli is a historian, esthetician and 5th generation gardener, and works with Black and women producers to source nourishing “skinfood” botanicals from across Africa, the Caribbean, and the Southern US. 
  • Kirrin Finch is a conscientious clothing company that creates menswear-inspired apparel designed to fit a range of women and non-binary folks. The Brooklyn, NY native brand began when co-founders, Kelly and Laura Moffat, decided they were no longer willing to settle for ill-fitting menswear and overly frilly womenswear. The duo set out to break down the gender boundaries in fashion and instead focus on making great fitting clothing that allows people to feel confident and comfortable in their own skin.
  • Coco and Breezy was founded in 2009 by African American and Puerto Rican twin sisters Corianna and Brianna Dotson when they were 19 years old. Growing up in Minnesota they were bullied as there weren’t many other women of color. It was during those tough times they discovered their love for sunglasses, which offered a sense of protection. When they put on their sunglasses they became their alter egos and felt like they could conquer the world as fearless young women.  
  • Cyndi Ramirez is a second generation Colombian-American who grew up watching her mother treat patients in her cosmetology spas not knowing one day she would reflect on that experience to launch a new self care movement. She opened the initial Chillhouse location in 2017 with a goal to modernize the spa industry. Since inception, the brand has grown to a large Soho, NY flagship and now creates self-care rituals for chill-seekers everywhere through their line of clean beauty and wellness products.
  • EUMELANIN (pronounced: you- mel–a-nin) is manufactured and based in Detroit, MI. The name of the company comes from Eumelanin - the most abundant type of human melanin found in brown and black skin and hair. EUMELANIN is a fashion brand that infuses science by using the chemical structure of Melanin in its designs, and inspiration from melanated skin tones for the color of the apparel to celebrate and empower black and brown people around the world. 
  • Détroit Is the New Black is a brand at the crossroads of culture, fashion, and community. Founded by Roslyn Karamoko, the brand’s mission is to give customers an experience within its physical retail space. The store - and the brand - is more than just an apparel provider. The store functions as a rotating art gallery and community space, featuring new art installations each month. 

Press assets here

1: Trends are calculated by comparing normalized searches May ‘21 to May ‘20; global]

2: AMERICAN EXPRESS SHOP SMALL SUMMER STUDY METHODOLOGY. Consumer data is based on a survey of 1,004 Americans. The anonymous survey was conducted online May 24-26, 2021. Data was weighted to reflect the demographic composition of the 18+ population of the U.S. based upon gender, age, education, race and region. Small business owner data is based on an online study conducted among 500 small business owners/managers in the U.S. whose businesses involve arts/entertainment/recreation, retail trade, restaurant/bar/coffee shop/hotel/hospitality, or personal services. Respondent companies must conduct sales in a physical location.  The sample for the study came from an online panel. The anonymous survey was conducted online May 27 through June 9, 2021.

3: The analysis of the 2021 small business economy, and impact from weekend spending, was conducted by Econsult Solutions, Inc. (ESI). ESI calculated the number and composition of small businesses in the US in Q1 2021 using data from the U.S. Census Statistics of US Businesses and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. ESI also estimated spending among all US small businesses in select industries using survey data from Teneo on estimated revenue at small consumer-facing businesses during an average weekend during the summer of 2021.  Further, ESI used input-output analysis for the entire U.S. to calculate the additional economic impact that is generated nationally as the result of the spending of small business employees and the spending of the small business with suppliers and service providers.