The dating market - UK

A dating site is an online site designed to allow individuals to meet new people, usually for the purpose of establishing a romantic or non-romantic relationship. Online dating usually takes place through online websites or applications. Today, there are several versions of online dating sites, depending on the customs and traditions of the location in which they develop. Indeed, the function and purpose of dating sites vary considerably from one country to another. However, administrative procedures remain relatively homogenous, involving the creation of a profile, where personal and private information is added, often serving as the “personal pitch” on which discussions are started. Most services offer digital messaging, while others offer additional services such as webcasting, online chat, telephone chat (VOIP) and forums. The global market has been expanding rapidly in the last years. This can be explained by the rise in number of single people around the globe, especially in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Moreover, the surge in Internet penetration has been beneficial to the industry. Similar to the world market, the United Kingdom has seen a large upswing in the number of users of online dating platforms. In 2019, Sky reported that one out of three relationships started online. This growth is driven by several factors including a larger number of single people, the increase of internet penetration, and product innovation. In 2020, the most used application was Tinder (47%), followed by Badoo (32%) and EHarmony (27%). In other words, Tinder has almost half of the market share for online dating. It should also be noted that usage of online dating application is not mutually exclusive; in other words, users often have accounts in different applications.