FLORIDA TODAY - Sep 22 - Mark Brooks, editor of Onlinepersonalswatch and an industry consultant, said that online dating is growing in popularity because it is a cheaper alternative to filtering your way through the real world to the match of your dreams. PlentyofFish.com, a free dating site averaging ~3M unique visitors per month, has seen a jump in growth since the economic downturn. The site saw a 94% increase in traffic from June 2008 to June 2009. eHarmony.com has seen a 48% gain in traffic since last year and Match.com saw its strongest fourth quarter in about seven years in 2008. Two Indialantic entrepreneurs have capitalized on the trend, creating a new site called vacancylove.com. It is in beta-testing until Oct. 1, when it will officially launch. Until then, users who sign up will get a free 90-day membership.
The full article was originally published at Florida Today, but is no longer available.
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This topic has been discussed ad nauseam on my blog. You fail to address the presence of other potentially significant drivers of traffic growth such as increased ad spend with POF and the fact that Match rolled out a feature that increased site stickiness and had nothing to do with the recession. Not to get political but this is like the argument that troop surge was responsible for greater progress in Iraq, when that was most likely not the case.
Posted by: David Evans | Sep 22, 2009 at 06:00 PM
David, couple of things. The post just seems like a statement of fact... I don't read it as a causal relationship. I think maybe you pulled the trigger too early on your response.
Secnd point, the relative strength of the online dating space versus the rest of the market does point toward "something" different in the dynamics of the industry that is helping it stay afloat despite the downturn. You cite specific cases, but the relative strength extends to more than Match.com and POF.
Posted by: Sam Summers | Sep 23, 2009 at 11:46 AM