TMZ – Mar 24 – Since the COVID-19 outbreak, Bumble's seeing a 21% increase in its voice chat and video call usage, and people are staying on the line longer than normal, as in 15 minutes on average. Bumble says messages are being exchanged at a higher clip overall in San Francisco (26% bump), NYC (23% increase) and Seattle (21% jump). Bumble and Tinder are doling out dating advice for the COVID-19 era and encouraging singles to get to know someone without meeting up in person.
Category: Bumble
Q&A With Bumble’s Vice President of Strategy, Priti Joshi
MENAFN – Mar 23 – As India stays home to prevent the spread of COVID-19, online dating is on the rise. Bumble says that the e-dating space in India will see a gendered shift, with more women taking the lead, and an increased desire for meaningful, lasting connections.
Q: What is India's dating scene like? What makes it unique, as compared to other countries?
A: It is highly fragmented. On one side, there are many global apps focused on dating, and on the other, there are local, homegrown players focused on dating or matrimony. Bumble saw an opportunity to play in the middle – to bring to India a social network where women are empowered to make the first move.
Q: Specifically for women, online dating can get a little tricky. What do you think is women users' ask of an online dating platform?
A: We care deeply about bringing people together with a mission to end misogyny. It was important for us to prioritise safety features.
Q: What have been your key observations over the years since you launched?
A: Over this last year, Bumble India's user base has quadrupled to 2M users and one of our fastest growing user segments is Gen Z. We've also seen that women in India are empowered and excited to take control. Furthermore, we've seen that 40% of women in India use more than one mode on Bumble.
by Siddhi Jain
See full article at MenaFN
How Is Coronavirus Affecting the Mobile Economy
APPANNIE – Mar 19 – The world is now turning to mobile to stay connected. AppAnnie took a look at Business, Education, Games, Social, Entertainment, Ride-Sharing, Food Delivery, Finance and Dating apps to unearth how coronavirus is impacting the way we conduct our lives each day. In China, city lockdowns began in January 2020. Consequently, in February, the daily time spent in mobile in China jumped to 5h per day, an increase of 30% compared to the average for 2019. Business and Education apps saw the biggest surge in downloads among categories of apps. We have seen a softening in active users among the top dating apps in the US in the weeks post-Valentine's Day, but it's important to note that we typically see a peak in usage surrounding Valentine's Day. Within dating apps, users can still be active by matching and messaging without actually meeting up in-person.
Match Dating Patents Under Threat
BLOOMBERG LAW – Mar 17 – Bumble has established a "reasonable likelihood" that it will succeed in invalidating a Match Group patent for computer dating. Patent covers steps that include swiping left or right to indicate disapproval or approval and then setting up communication between the two people if both sides express interest. The patent office is already reviewing the validity of two other Match patents based on Bumble challenges, with decisions expected by the end of the year.
by Susan Decker & Todd Shields
See full article at Bloomberg Law
Is Dating Someone With Different Values to You Ever a Good Idea?
STYLIST – Feb 25 – According to a new survey of 12k women by Bumble 61% of women say they look for a partner who shares their values. We asked a behavioural psychologist Jo Cummings how important shared values really are. "Core values, such as wanting children or marriage – or not – are very rarely open to compromise. ..It's also good to be open minded, to have debate, and to be an effective listener, as your partner may give you a perspective on a topic that you hadn't really considered before."
by Lauren Geall
See full article at Stylist
Mark Brooks: Behavioral Economists give product designers and digital marketers a nomenclature to work with to better describe the behaviors they're observing. I run the group BehavioralEconomist.com (as well as OPW.news), and am attempting to connect more Behavioral Economists with the dating industry. Please join the fray and learn the language of BE in the group. I think you might find the language of biases and heuristics and behavior at least interesting.
Top Grossing Dating Apps Worldwide for January 2020
SENSORTOWER – Feb 18 – The top grossing dating app worldwide for January 2020 was Tinder with $86M in user spending. 40% percent of Tinder's revenue was from the United States, followed by 7% from UK and 5% from Brazil. Bumble was #2 with $20M in gross revenue, which represented 27% YOY growth.
Gay Dating App Chappy Is Shutting Down
PINK NEWS – Feb 17 – According to the app's website, Chappy's team will join up dating app Bumble. No matches made on Chappy will be carried over to the Bumble. The app recommends users to exchange numbers with any matches they've made using Chappy before it closes down. All matches will be wiped from February 28. Chappy was founded by Made In Chelsea star Ollie Locke and Jack Rogers in 2017.
Bumble India’s User Base Has Quadrupled Since December 2018
EXCHANGE4MEDIA – Feb 7 – Having crossed ~2M user base in India, Priti Joshi, VP of Strategy, Bumble talks about the brand's plans in India through collaborations with various industries such as entertainment, fashion, lifestyle, sports and tech.
Q: How many countries are you present in? Which is your largest market?
A: Bumble is available in over 150 countries. US and the UK continue to be key markets for us.
Q: Tell us about your plans for 2020? What is the next big disruption you are introducing?
A: We kicked off 2020 with the rollout of our integrated campaign, 'Dating Just Got Equal'. The campaign aims to challenge the antiquated rules of dating by empowering women to make the first move.
Q: Tell us a little about the popularity of your offering in India?
A: It has been a great year for Bumble in India since our launch in Dec 2018. Bumble India’s user base has quadrupled to ~2M users. Indian women are sending twice the number of messages compared to women in the rest of the world. Furthermore, 40% of women in India use more than one mode on Bumble.
Q: How are you marketing yourself in the country?
A: We're constantly leaning heavily on establishing a consistent brand narrative across various offline and digital media touchpoints, along with leveraging data-driven performance marketing, influencer marketing, brand and content partnerships, and experiential activations.
Singles Dropped $2.2B on Dating Apps Last Year
CNET – Feb 5 – Consumers dropped $2.2B on dating apps last year, according to App Annie's State of Mobile Report. The amount is double what was spent two years ago. Tinder and Bumble came in first and second in terms of consumer spending.
MagicLab Billionaire Andreev to Launch New Mobile App Business
