Dating in a Down Economy

Kristopher SchuffRae Bange

Stephanie Jorgensen

ONLINE DATING SERVICES

•Match.com•Eharmony.com•Perfectmatch.com•Chemistry.com•Yahoopersonals.com•Blackpeoplemeet.com

A GROWING MARKET?• In Britain alone, 8 million active singles went

on 24 million first dates in 2008, with seven out of ten (69%) of these arranged online.

• Match.com, saw paid subscriptions rise 5 percent to 1.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2008 and registrations were 22 percent higher in December than at the same time last year.

• eHarmony.com saw a 20 percent spike in memberships from September 2008 through January 2009 compared to the same time frame last year.

• Both dating sites reported the highest traffic on the Dow 30's worst days.

A GROWING MARKET?• OnlineBootyCall.com, which saw a 45 percent revenue spike and

60 percent membership boost from 2007 to 2008, is also expecting to grow in a down economy.

• The online auction site for engagement rings, IDoNowIDont.com, has also enjoyed a recessionary pop. Ring sales more than tripled and Web site traffic has quadrupled between September and December in 2008, according to the company.

Match.com Revenue

Dating site Match.com now has more than 20 million members, a figure that grows by 60,000 daily. The company charges members $35 per month and had revenue of $366 million in 2008, a 5 percent increase from 2007.

Match.com Agrees To Buy People Media For $80 Million

• The deal will add 27 dating sites with a combined 255,000 paying subscribers to the IAC (NSDQ: IACI) portfolio, including BlackPeopleMeet.com, LDSPlanet.com (Latter Day Saints dating), SingleParentMeet.com, SeniorPeopleMeet.com

WHY THEY ARE DOING SO WELL

• Joining a dating site costs a fraction of the amount you would spend in a night at a bar without having met the right person.

• With the current downturn in the economy, soul seekers are turning away from traditional and expensive methods of meeting people casually in bars.

• People are looking for a companion during these rough times.• "There is no risk or rejection, and it is a safe environment.“ -

Arndt Roller, Parship's chief executive. • People suddenly have 60 to 80 more hours free per week and

are miserable

References http://www.lovesites.com/match-to-buy-yahoo-personals#more-605http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/06/online-dating-industry-face-markets cx_je_0105autofacescan01.htmlhttp://www.lovesites.com/dating-in-a-down-economyhttp://www.cnbc.com/id/28873744http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/44891http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2008/05/matchcom-revenu.html