It seems that the recession is affecting the way people choose to meet potential matches and the numbers are proving it. Spending cash on going to bars and clubs in the hopes of meeting someone can hurt one’s bank account. For many, online dating may seem like a more cost effective approach.
Online Dating - cheaper than dressing up for the club?. Image Credit: Yoshimi
From Forbes.com: Thrifty Singles Embrace Online Dating (February 2009)
- The UK membership of Match.com grew 26% from January 2008 to January 2009.
- The cultural stigma not only seems to be wearing away but the recession has forced the search for love to become a more prudent pursuit.
- Two years ago, 60% of singles in the UK said they would be embarrassed to join an online dating site compared to only 20% in 2009.
- Easydate.biz (parent company to DateTheUK.com and BeNaughty.com) has seen a 112% increase in sales from February 2008 to February 2009.
From About.com: Online Dating Users Increase Exponentially (February 2009)
- Jupiter Research has predicted a 16% increase in revenues from 2007 to 2012, going from $900 million to $1.9 billion in 5 years.
- From September 2008 to January 2009, eHarmony posted a 20% increase in sign-ups from the same period the year before.
- In the paid content category, online dating services are the third largest attractor of internet users after music and games. This amounted to 10% of the online audience in 2007.
- Major free online dating sites accounted for 25% of all online dating traffic in December 2008 opposed to 15% the year before.
From Nielsen Wire: Online Dating and Advertising Prove To Be A Good Match (February 2009)
If the amount of money spent on advertising is any indication of how well online dating services are doing, then the following figures from The Nielsen Company are of great interest.
- Of the major online dating services, eHarmony spent the most on advertising during the January 2008 to September 2008 period with the amount of $ 93 255 171.
- Across the online dating industry, $25 million was spent on advertising in the month of August 2008 alone.
Ok... these stats are quite scary, I really didn't realise that online dating was so big. What I want to know is what are the demographics of people using these sites? especially age.... I have a feeling that the younger generations would be the minority, preferring facebook and myspace to do their 'courting' but I may be wrong....
still freaked out about the numbers... what happened to going up to say hi to someone out at a bar or club? Have we become that socially inept that we can only flirt online...sad man. Barney Stinson would be disappointed
Posted by Daniel on 2009/07/25