Match point: Dating apps see user surge amid COVID pandemic

Dating apps have seen a surge in usage thanks to the pandemic which brought physical meetings to a halt.

In fact, a recent study by one such platform, Aisle in November this year, has suggested that a staggering 90 per cent of young people are now comfortable telling their parents that they met their partner on a dating app. 

This was from a survey of 20,000 people between the ages of 18-35. And 40 per cent of the respondents were women.

The Aisle survey also pointed out that 83 per cent of respondents found that their families were in acceptance of their dating choices. 

This also reflects the sentiment of 2,549 users were from Karnataka.

Interestingly, the use of dating app has percolated into non metros — as 54.2 per cent of the participants in the survey were from non-tier one cities. 

The pandemic is also a reason for such platforms to become popular. It tapped into the non-tier-one cities as well.

Able Joseph, founder, and CEO of Aisle, told CE that in 2020, they added two million users.

He adds that the team also noticed a surge in the matches in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. In 2020, 45 per cent of Aisle’s revenue came from tier 2 and 3 cities compared to 38 per cent in 2019.

The popularity was coupled with their launch of targeted platforms for their regional users.

“We understand Indian sensitivities and know-how regional influences play a role in choosing a partner,” Able said.

The firm launched Arike for the Malayalee audience, followed by Anbe and Neetho for the Tamil and Telugu speaking communities, respectively.

“Over the last two years, our revenue has grown by 70 per cent, while the revenue from newly-launched vernacular apps is growing 30 per cent month on month,” Able adds.