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Blind date with recession for the business of romance
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Business English: Blind date with recession for the business of romance
Singles are increasingly cost conscious when it comes to using dating agenciesAt new year, Mike Parker, a graphic designer from London, made a resolution: to join an internet dating site. "My best mate met his girlfriend on Mysinglefriend.com and, as everyone seems to be doing, I thought why not?" His decision was far from rare. Sam Yagan, chief executive and founder of OKCupid.com, says: "The period between new year and Valentine's day is our busiest time. Next to making more money and getting fit, finding a partner is everyone's new year's resolution."
While the build-up to February 14 may be a busy time for the online dating industry, the "crunch time" this year, says Mark Brooks, president of the Internet Dating Executive Alliance, will be when the red roses have wilted. "It's then, when subscriptions typically tail off, that we'll see if the industry will be able to withstand the recession."
As the downturn deepens, the search for romance among professionals is undergoing subtle changes. Dating agencies are re-appraising their business models to attract clients, while signs are emerging that customers are beginning to economise on the costs of a "special night out".
The recession has prompted 29-year-old Sophie Shaw, a City of London lawyer to rethink: "I've always strongly resisted the 'boys-pay' thing but recently have been thinking why not?"
Hugo Christopher, a 34-year-old designer from west London, has a new late-date policy in order to avoid restaurant bills: "I generally say, 'I'm working late, shall we meet at 9.00? I'll grab a sandwich in the office, you might want to eat beforehand too?'" If a meal is unavoidable, he says, he is becoming well-practised in trotting out lines like: "I've heard the best test of a restaurant is the house wine, shall we order it?" Efforts to cut back have not so far led Mr Christopher to end his membership of Mysinglefriend, whose online blog recently advised users to go on snack dates rather than dinner dates.
Where is the love?
Greg Waldorf, of US site Eharmony, is cautious about making long-term predictions but he hopes the downturn may be good for business. "My impression is that consumers are prioritising this area of their lives. We've seen more site traffic when the stock market has gone down."
Mary Balfour, founder of 25-year-old offline dating agency Drawing Down the Moon, which charges for introductions as well as some fee-paying sites and two that offer free membership, smartdating.co.uk and grownupdating.co.uk, agrees: "A lot of City high-flyers are saying things to us like they are going to concentrate on the more important things in life like relationships rather than pay cheques and bonuses."
She has observed some emerging spending differences between the genders: "We do find that quite a lot of men start their search for a partner on the internet now [because] it's a cheaper option, whereas women are still heading for personal agencies."
Some are tempted by free online dating sites. Subscription sites may worry they will lose money-conscious members, needing to cut back on typical monthly charges of $25 (£18), to the free sites such as OKCupid.com, as well as social networking sites. In 2006, 8 per cent of traffic to online dating services went to free sites. By 2008 this had reached 24 per cent, according to Hitwise, the market research company. Mr Yagan believes the recession will accelerate this trend: "We are seeing over-35s [the demographic that pays for dating services] joining our site. When you are trying to be frugal, a dating site might well be one of the things you cut back on if there are free sites on offer."
Mr Brooks disagrees: "At the end of the day 20 bucks a month isn't that much to spend. People can rationalise it by saying that it's cheaper than going out for a night out and wasting much more and not meeting anyone."
Paying for filters
Ross Williams, CEO of Global Personals, which owns hundreds of niche subscription sites, believes members will not cut back. He is undaunted by the challenge from free sites. In fact, he says they help by offering a way for users to try out such services.
"You get what you pay for," says Mr Williams. "Users don't want a free-for-all. They want to know that their potential dates are serious about relationships." A free site cannot give the same customer service as a subscription version, he says: "Free sites are more likely to have spammers trying to con people out of money and married timewasters on their books because there is no one gatekeeping."
Ms Balfour says: "There have been a lot of challenges over the years from the internet and free sites. I've seen some go to the wall. But some people will always pay - they hope it signals serious intent about a relationship."
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The Financial Times, 08.04.2009
© 2009 The Financial Times,
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Börsen- und Finanzmarktdaten:
Bereitstellung der Kurs- und Marktinformationen erfolgt durch die Interactive Data Managed Solutions AG. Es wird keine Haftung für die Richtigkeit der Angaben übernommen!
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