DATING DIGITALLY

In the digital age, dating has become a one-swipe journey, igniting passion and redefining romance

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In this day and age of abundance, we face the problem of choice. More choices often make it difficult to arrive at a decision, making things complicated, and our interactions less committed as we multitask and unconsciously seek out new sources of thrill, excitement and entertainment. The digital world is a perfect example of this phenomenon.

These elements have impacted our lives. In the past five to six years, a whole new range of dating apps has emerged, despite the availability of several social media platforms. It has been exactly a decade since the launch of the dating app Tinder, which is now the most downloaded app on the internet.

According to various statistics, the dating app market generated a revenue of $4.94 billion in 2022. More than 30 crore people worldwide use dating apps, and 2 crore of them pay for premium features. These statistics trigger a natural question: How profitable is the business of dating apps? Let us take a closer look to understand the growing popularity of digital romance.

HOW DO DATING APPS WORK

Despite the general perception that people are averse to paying for dating app subscriptions, Indian consumers spent $9.9 million on dating and friendship apps in 2022, according to a report by data.ai, a mobile data and analytics platform, which provides data and insights into the app world.

In the online dating world, Tinder dominates the market with a share of over 50%. This dominance makes it difficult for new entrants to compete. Prominent dating apps other than Tinder are Bumble, Hinge, OkCupid, Happn, TrulyMadly, Woo and Badoo.

Now, let us understand the business model of a dating website.