Month: December 2022

Dating Sunday Is the Best Day for Those Returning to Dating Apps

Posted on December 30, 2022

DatingSTYLIST.CO.UK – Some experts predict that 'Dating Sunday' will be the best day to be on a dating app in 2023. 'Dating Sunday' (which this year falls on Sunday 8 January 2023) refers to singles joining new dating apps or returning to old favorites on the first Sunday of the year. Typically, dating apps experience a massive surge in users and activity on Dating Sunday. In 2018, Coffee Meets Bagel saw a 75% increase on the first Sunday of the year compared to the previous 30 days, while Tinder experienced a 41% jump in downloads. Inner Circle, meanwhile, is expecting a 40% increase in new members on Dating Sunday 2023. 

by Leah Sinclair
See full article at Stylist.co.uk

See the top news on Coffee Meets Bagel
See the top news on Inner Circle

Social Discovery Ventures Rebrands to Social Discovery Group

Posted on December 29, 2022

Social Discovery GroupPRESS RELEASE – Social Discovery Ventures (also known as Dating Group), a global tech company with ~40 brands, an investment fund, and a venture studio, is rebranding to Social Discovery Group. The company's venture studio is renamed to SDG Lab. 

See full article at Newsfile

See the top news on Social Discovery Group

The Right Stuff Dating App Floundering After 3 Months

Posted on December 28, 2022

The Right StuffTHE DAILY BEAST – Twelve weeks after its rocky launch, conservative dating app The Right Stuff failed to attract many users. In Oct, the Peter Thiel-backed startup generated 40K downloads, according to data from Sensor Tower. But between Nov. 1 and Dec. 20, that figure dropped to just 11K downloads. The app, co-founded by former Trump administration official John McEntee, continues to face an onslaught of negative reviews and criticism from its target demographic: young conservatives. Its intense verification process has made it inoperable for many users.

by Noah Kirsch & Zachary Petrizzo
See full article at The Daily Beast

See the top news on The Right Stuff

The Way We Like to Do Things at OPW.news – All Credit to Journalists

Posted on December 26, 2022

Opwnews logoOPW – We believe it's not ok to re-write content from journalists. They deserve full credit. This is why we merely illuminate content, and do short culling executive summaries and then point you to their bio and content.

We link to the journalists profile, along with other articles on the company featured in the article, and we drive you, our executive readers, to the original article. It doesn't matter if you're finding the summary in your email, or social media, we're not trying to land you back at our website so you can view ads. We're sending you to the originating article so you can view their ads, or better, subscribe to their outlet. We illuminate the top news. The news you can use to make smarter and more informed decisions…and we make sure we give full credit and recognition to the amazing journalists that work so hard (on ever-tighter deadlines and budgets) to research and write the news.

63% of Men Use Dates to Become ‘a Better Version of Themselves’

Posted on December 23, 2022

Couple on a dateCNBC – The dating experience is more rewarding for men than women, according to recent data from Match. 63% of men said dating helps them be a better version of themselves, but only 46% of women said the same. 44% of men said dating over the last year helped them grow and improve as a person. Why are men leaving dates more self-actualized than women? Perhaps because they are using their date as free therapy. Men have less intimate friendships: Only 30% of men reported having a private conversation with a friend during which they shared a personal feeling in the last week, according to a survey by the Survey Center on American Life. For women, this number was 48%. It's not surprising that they also report being more lonely than women, according to a 2021 study.

by Aditi Shrikant
See full article at CNBC

Interview With CEO of G-commerce Service, RealGifts

Posted on December 22, 2022

RealGifts Ruen BuellOPW INTERVIEW – RealGifts is our newest (Courtland Brooks) client and OPW sponsor. They do G-commerce (at scale) for dating. Here is my interview with dating industry veteran Ruben Buell who is CEO of RealGifts. – Mark Brooks

What is G-commerce?
G-commerce is gifting commerce. We take E-Commerce and tailor it to the act of giving and receiving. In dating, this means we enable one dater to give a gift to another, without disclosure of mailing addresses. Due to the increase in globalization, internet penetration, and the post-corona trend of working from home, this vertical is set to grow at a rapid rate over the next several years.

There is a major increase in demand for instant, last-minute gifts and easy gift exchanges. Personalization is also key – people want an experience that caters to them, and gifts that they have specified, rather than something that they will inevitably return.

Studies reveal that for every $10 the average American spends, $1 is spent on buying someone a gift, and on average this amounts to $1,851 per year spent on gifts. According to stats, the global personalized online gifts market amounts to $31.36 billion and is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 9% per year.

People naturally express their love and emotions through gifts, and as our lives shift online, so do our habits. Gift-giving is a fundamental part of human relationships, and we are reinventing it, and making it even more accessible.

What is RealGifts?
RealGifts is a widget that enables users to send each other personalized, self-chosen gifts without disclosing any personal information, ensuring privacy and security. Through this, RealGifts both boosts UX as well as the level of engagement among users.

The widget itself is an award-winning end-to-end solution that provides a selection of best-selling products from brands that truly embody luxury. Users can create personal wishlists, and from those wishlists, other users can send gifts across mobile applications and traditional websites.

How does it help singles connect?
Gift-giving is a love language in and of itself.

RealGifts is the method through which people can speak that particular love language. They can express their feelings – recent or more long-term – with these self-chosen gifts, deepening connections and making the online dating experience far more real and intimate.

RealGifts creates a memorable experience for users – but more than that, it makes the experience real and tangible. It’s the stepping stone for taking the online dating experience into the real world, and gives couples something that is shared, and that represents the depth of their connection.

How long has it been around, and at what scale is the platform tested to?
RealGifts has been around since 2006, and has been tested for a scale of over 150 million users globally.

What are the most popular gifts?
RealGifts has a vast range of gifts, but the most popular categories that we've seen chosen by our members, and purchased by our members are:

  • Fragrances
  • Earrings
  • Floral Chocolates
  • Bags and Wallets

How does it help dating apps monetize?
Dating apps receive a 10%-30% payout on all gift sales.

There is no outside link when using the widget; everything happens on your app or on your site, so the engagement time vastly increases. We've found that each member spends an average of 11 minutes creating their wishlist and browsing the selection available, greatly boosting their ARPU.

Contact: rebeca.valdez@getrealgifts.com

Match Group: From Dominant Leader to Turnaround Play

Posted on December 22, 2022

Match GroupINVESTING.COM – Match stock has plunged 70% so far this year.  Decelerating growth has led to a soft outlook for Q4. New management and new efforts need to work for the stock to reverse. In a post-pandemic environment, there's little reason to believe that the steady, long-term rise of online dating is going to end, yet, MTCH closed Tuesday at its lowest level in ~4 years. In 2021, MTCH traded ~70x expected adjusted EPS. Unsustainable. Revenue increased 25% in 2021, and 17% in 2020. Adjusted EBITDA was ~36% of revenue. Match expects revenue and adjusted operating income to decline YOY. The strong dollar is having an impact. (Bumble expects revenue growth of 22% to 25% in Q4). Wall Street remains behind Match: The average price target implies a ~60% upside. 

by Vince Martin
See full article at Investing.com

Mark Brooks: How well is Match positioned for growth and innovation? Please comment below.

See the top news on Match Group

Should Criminals Be Banned From Accessing Dating Apps

Posted on December 22, 2022

BannedTHE DAILY TELEGRAPH – The Daily Telegraph today launches a program, Swipe Them Out, a campaign to rid online dating platforms of violent and repeat offenders. The campaign comes after a 33 year old man was charged with the murder of a woman he met on Tinder. When Angela Hardy swiped right on Tinder, there was no way for her to know that her date was a crazed serial stalker with nine apprehended violence orders against him involving four terrified women. 36 year old Paul Lambert had breached parole and probation and created a new identity for himself after being deported from the US for threatening and staulking his TV presenter girlfriend there.  

See full article at The Daily Telegraph

Mark Brooks: Background check services are mature enough now that we should be offering them on all our platforms. They're not foolproof, and I don't think they would so easily catch the International criminals that bounce between countries, but they are better than nothing.