Bumble's Bet on Women Won't Pay off Everywhere

WALL STREET JOURNAL - Jan 21 - A higher percentage of the Bumble app's users convert to payers than the market average among dating apps, according to OC&C Strategy Consultants - ~9% paid conversion among its 12.3M monthly active users, the company said. But a women-centric approach also could pose some limitations to growth. Historical gender norms might be more difficult to disrupt outside the U.S. In India, Bumble didn't break the top 10 in terms of consumer spending. Interestingly, Tinder tested a feature in India around the time of Bumble's launch there called "My Move," which allowed women to initiate conversation. Depending on its success, Tinder said it would consider launching the app more globally. Ominously for Bumble, Tinder hasn't indicated plans to roll out the feature anywhere else.