There are a lot of rapidly growing and promising business niches with a relatively low entry threshold. Online dating is one of them. Despite being highly competitive, it still has room for new projects. Get started with discovering the trends dominating the industry to grab a winning idea for your new online dating app.
Online Dating on the Rise - Facts and Stats
Being the top-second way to meet a partner, online dating is older than you might think. It didn’t begin with Tinder. Instead, it began with Match.com back in 1995. Now, online dating platforms are popular across the globe and 323 million users worldwide choose them to find exclusive and non-exclusive romantic partners, friends, and like-minded people.
Dating App Trends for 2024 and Beyond
elow are some of the online dating industry trends that, in the opinion of leading project owners and users themselves, are here to stay.
So, in 2024, the most popular chatting apps are WhatsApp, WeChat, Facebook Messenger, QQ, Snapchat and Telegram. In one of our recent articles, we have already discussed how to create an app like Snapchat, and now let’s uncover some stats and facts on the globally-leading messaging solutions.
1. Being honest
Being honest about goals, intentions, and themselves is one of the strongest trends in online dating. Indeed, this trend organically matches the very nature of online dating – when you date online, you are welcome to choose from a large pool of possible matches and to find your best one, there is no sense to lie. That’s why modern users prioritize extensive profiles, audio, and video communication tools, and in-built games to get to know each other better from the very first line.2. Slow dating
Slow dating is another trend that drives the most popular dating apps revenue. A lot of users aren’t in a hurry to meet in person, preferring communicating via an app for a long time, and renewing their subscriptions again and again. Engaging users with push notifications is the easiest tip to capitalize on this trend.3. Virtual dating and new dating activities
Virtual dating is on the rise after the pandemic, which also triggered the use of dating apps. Indeed, the users who have tried this approach during the lockdown, consider virtual dating to be more convenient and less time-consuming compared to real dates. In-built video call features greatly contribute to the development of this popular dating app trend. In addition, modern users are also interested in new dating activities – for example, dating in video games, and synchronized movie watching. Adding such unique features to your dating app can help your project stand out.Looking for a tech team with online dating development experience?
Gather Your Own Now4. Online dating by age, goal, and much more
Baddoo, Tinder, and Bumble are great online dating platforms in the opinion of modern users but not the only ones. The popularity of online dating triggers the development of dedicated platforms that unite users by age, goal, social status, hobbies, and much more. For example, eHarmony is a suitable app to look for serious relationships while Match works well for mature daters. Given the wide adoption of online dating platforms across countries and social groups, startup initiators are welcome to come up with something outstanding as well.5. Health-conscious dating
The recent pandemic boosted dating app usage and gave a rise to new trends in online dating. Health-conscious dating is one of them. According to these trends, health-conscious users would like to know the vaccination status of their matches, along with their opinion on Covid, the pandemic, their roots, reasons, and global impact to avoid controversies on this issue. That’s why there will be no surprise if soon online daters will be able to shortlist potential matches not only with a “Verified user” but also a “Vaccinated user” filter.6. Politically-conscious dating
In addition to health-conscious dating, politically-conscious one is one of the latest dating app trends. The essence is also simple – the users would like to know the political opinions and preferences of their potential matches. According to statistics, 53% of OkCupid users will never date someone with strongly opposite political views.Online Dating of the Future - Trends and Predictions
By 2027, there will be 440,9 million online dating apps users. The online dating market is also projected to grow at 3.59% annually and is expected to reach$3.41bn in market volume by 2027. Online dating future trends are also expected to change. Below are the ones that are likely to dominate the industry.
- Becoming more inclusive. There are already a lot of dating apps for LGBT representatives, like Her or Grindr. Since society becomes more tolerant and respectful, online dating apps are also likely to become more inclusive, uniting people with diverse self-identification and preferences.
- Becoming more social. It is projected that online dating apps will employ even more social features, turning into full-fledged communication platforms. The users, in turn, also support this trend, switching to mindfulness dating, getting to know each other as personalities, and prioritizing intelligence over physical attractiveness.
- Becoming video and audio-based. Video and audio features are already embedded in most online dating apps. In the future, they are expected to be used more frequently, following the same trends in Google search, digital content consumption, and social media.
Creating the Opportunities in the Online Dating Market
While the online dating market is projected to grow and give rise to new online dating market trends, it will also create new opportunities for business owners and first-time startup initiators. In our recent articles, we have already discussed how to start a dating site and now, let’s find out how to create a future-proof cutting-edge for it.
Capitalize on users’ dissatisfaction
How to earn on a dating website? Regardless of the business model you choose, capitalizing on the users’ dissatisfaction is always a winning strategy. So, what are they unhappy with?
There are several concerns online dating users have. The main ones refer to their sensitive data safety when communicating online and physical safety when meeting in person. That’s why adding advanced security features to your online dating app can be a cutting-edge idea.
For example, Badoo analyses conversations and catches even the seemingly innocent attempts of the users to be rude. Tinder has a Panic button that sends an alert to safety authorities to spot a location if something goes wrong during the date. It also has a check-in option to let friends know where the daters are.
As for online data protection practices, embedding the latest ones and letting the users know about the ways you protect their data also makes sense.
Expand geographical limits
While online dating apps are becoming more social, letting users expand their geo reach and meet people worldwide can also be a trendy idea. Consider it if you are thinking about creating an online dating app for users with serious intentions – nobody can know where their true soulmate is. Expanding geographical limits in your online dating app is also a way to make it more social and let the users find global friends, following a new dating app trend.
Conclusion
Online dating is here to stay, letting people meet each other effortlessly and quickly reach their personal goals. The online dating market is also projected to grow, creating opportunities for new business models and unique startups. Nevertheless, a market-disruptive dating app should be well-designed, carefully protected, and technically powerful to stand out and win the user’s hearts. Adding some advanced features also makes sense, and Binerals development team would be happy to help you. We have practical experience with online dating applications development, plus a top-skilled tech team with a product mindset.
