Pinterest's Weekly Active Users (WAU) have increased by 5%, but the open rates for email notifications have decreased by 2%. Investigate the reasons behind this.

The interviewer's question seeks a critical evaluation of a hypothetical scenario in which Pinterest's weekly active users (WAU) are on the rise, yet the open rates for email notifications are declining. This question is designed to assess your analytical abilities, problem-solving skills, and understanding of digital marketing. When tackling this question, it is essential to grasp the relevant terms: WAU stands for weekly active users. An increase in this metric indicates that more individuals are engaging with Pinterest each week. Email open rates represent the percentage of subscribers who open a specific email compared to the total number of subscribers. In this context, a decrease implies that fewer people are opening Pinterest's emails. To thoroughly address the question, consider possible explanations for this discrepancy. Reflect on factors such as changes in email campaign strategies, modifications to the Pinterest platform, or adjustments to algorithms. Subsequently, outline how you would investigate the issue to validate your assumptions or identify the underlying problem.

One potential explanation could be that although Pinterest is attracting more users or increasing engagement among current users, these individuals may not be checking their emails regularly or might have disabled their email notifications. The increase in users could result from a successful user acquisition or retention strategy that doesn't necessarily involve email activity. To verify this, we would need to examine the email notification settings of active users and determine if there have been any recent significant changes. An additional possibility may relate to the quality of the email communication itself. It’s possible that the subject lines are not captivating enough to encourage opens, or the content may not be as interesting or relevant to the audience as it once was. To explore this, I would conduct an audit of recent email campaigns to assess any changes in their open rates.

There may be technical challenges related to deliverability, where Pinterest's emails are being classified as spam and not reaching users' inboxes. Consequently, even though user activity on Pinterest is on the rise, the emails are going unnoticed. To determine if this is the issue, I would analyze the bounce rates and spam complaint rates for the emails. On the other hand, the decline in email open rates could stem from inadequate segmentation and targeting of users for various types of email notifications, resulting in content that is less relevant to them. Therefore, even with active engagement on Pinterest, users might not feel compelled to open the emails. To verify this, I would review the targeting and segmentation strategy used in the email campaigns.