CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH — Jan 8 — Nielsen Online found that customer reviews are an important research tool for online consumers, with 71% agreeing that consumer reviews make them more comfortable that they are buying the right product. 81% of online shoppers have read product or retailer reviews by other customers.
The full article was originally published at Media Post, but is no longer available.
FORBES — Jan 6 — With the current downturn in the economy, singles are turning away from traditional methods of meeting people casually in bars and instead are flocking to online dating. Easydate.biz has gone from making a pretax profit of £180k in 2006 to a projected £6m this year. Parship claims it has grown by 400% in sales terms from 2005 to 2007. In Britain alone, 8m active singles went on 24m first dates in 2008, with 69% of these arranged online. FULL ARTICLE @ FORBES
OPW — Dec 18 — We have just updated Nielsen Online Rankings. Yahoo! Personals and My Luv Crush maintained their #1 and #2 spot respectively. Singlesnet and eHarmony took #3 and #4 ousting Match.com and TRUE.com to #5 and #6. AOL Personals moved up to #7 pushing Spark Networks to # 9. PlentyofFish is at #8 and Mate1 slides off the top 10.
MEDIA LIFE MAGAZINE — Dec 1 – A number of online dating services are reporting that their subscriber numbers have soared since September's stock market turmoil hit. Christian Connection, a London-based online dating service, reports that its revenues in last three months were up about 40% YOY. Perfectmatch.com also said in November that the number of members is up 47% compared to last quarter. And Avalanche.com, which owns Date.com, Matchmaker.com and Amor.com, reports a similar trend, with revenue up 17% YOY and membership up 26%.
The full article was originally published at Media Life Magazine, but is no longer available.
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OPW — Nov 21 — We have just updated Hitwise US online dating rankings for October. PlentyofFish.com is now the #1 dating site in the US followed by Singlesnet, Yahoo Personals and Match.com. PlentyofFish.com is also the #1 dating site in the UK according to Hitwise.
AP — Nov 5 — IAC reported a loss of $14.8m, or 11c per share, in the period ended Sept. 30, after a profit of $70.5m, or 47c per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 10% to $369.3m. Revenue from its Match unit, which includes dating sites Match.com and Chemistry.com, climbed 5% to $93.5m.
The full article was originally published at AP, but is no longer available.
CIOL — Oct 30 — According to a recent report "A Web Partner for Life" from EmPower Research the online matrimonial industry will reach 20.8m registrations with revenues of $63 million by 2010-2011. EmPower also sees that within three to five years, the online matrimonial industry in India will converge with other online offerings such as job search and career planning, under one consolidated brand and seamless user experience.
The full article was originally published at CIOL, but is no longer available.
Mark Brooks: BharatMatrimony and Shaadi are the leaders in India.
OPW — Oct 14 — The Hitwise rankings are in for September. Singlesnet, PlentyofFish, YahooPersonals and Match.com maintained their #1, #2, #3 and #4 spot respectively. Free dating site DateHookup.com moved ahead of racy gay dating site Adam4Adam and eHarmony to take the 5th position. UsearchLocal ousts OKCupid from it's 12th position. Hot or Not slides off the top 15 to #19.
RESEARCH BRIEF — Aug 29 — According to TV Land's "Generation BUY: A Close Look at the Boomer Consumer" study, people 40-59 spend more than three times the amount of money per month on spouses ($514) than adults under 40 ($169). With so many purchase decisions to make for the household, these buyers are an important marketing sector even when they are not the prime target. The study also found that 40 and 50-somethings are more open to new brands.
The full article was originally published at Center For Media Research, but is no longer available.
DAILYTIMES — Aug 15 — According to a 2006 study by the World Health Organisation and the Iraqi health ministry, 49.3% of Iraqi men and 47.5% of women are either single or divorced. In Iraq, like in most conservative Arab societies, couples are usually nudged into matrimony by their parents and often a matchmaker is consulted to help find the perfect spouse. The traditional "arranged marriages" have become unpopular, while the need for Internet matchmaking has only begun. "I think the Iraqis are looking for love on the Internet because there are no other places for them to meet," said Mustafa Kazem, a 20-year-old engineering student who found his soul mate on a university chat forum.
The full article was originally published at Daily Times, but is no longer available.