Last time I wrote about the influence COVID-19 has had on the online dating world. Today I decided to take a look at how online dating statistics were changing ever before the pandemic. With that said, let’s take a look at some interesting facts that explain the behavior of online dating during the years 2018 and 2019.
The number of online dating users is increasing
During the year 2018, more than 35 million users across the world were serious enough to use premium (or paid) versions of dating apps. In the same year, more than 162 million users used free versions of dating platforms. By the end of 2019, there were almost 40 million premium members across the globe whereas the number of free users has increased up to 180 million. The most interesting thing about this fact is that those numbers increased without any particular reason. So, by the end of the year 2020, we may be able to notice a huge upsurge in the numbers particularly due to the consequences of the pandemic.
Revenue generation
When it comes to revenue generation factors, online dating sites and apps across the globe were able to record a revenue of over $1760m in 2018. Without a surprise, the number increased to $1958m in 2019. Well, that’s over 11% growth compared to 2018. With that said the interesting part about these statistics is that the growth percentage is gradually decreasing. In 2018 the growth percentage was 11.5% and by 2020, the statistics suggest a percentage of 9.3%. However, these forecasts were done before the pandemic and as we believe, the percentages are likely to change into a more positive figure by the end of Q2.
Online dating usage by age
Ever since the concept of online dating was introduced, the usage by age groups hasn’t changed much. As per the statistics we can observe, the majority of online daters derive from the 25-34 age group. Over 43% of all online daters represent this age group. There is no significant difference between 2018 and 2019 if you take this factor into account. On the other hand, those who are between 55-64 years of age give a very low contribution to the numbers (as low as 4%).
By gender
The statistics related to online dating can be considered as a representation of what we see in the world of physical dating. As per the statistics, the world of online dating is dominated by male users. Almost 70% of the online daters are males. This explains why female online daters have such huge demand as soon as they sign up for an account on a dating platform.
As we believe, the numbers we have mentioned above can change dramatically by the end of 2020 contrary to the previous forecasts due to the unforeseen pandemic situation. In other words, the concept of online dating will gain more popularity (it already has) because people are encouraged to practice social distancing.
