Dating has gone fully virtual during Covid-19 shelter in place. The days of meeting randomly in a bar or social setting are on hold. Cupid is now fully virtual. One would think the numbers for online dating would be higher, but they are plummeting in New York, and down across the board. The only growing market are video chat portals – meaning – the large players in the space like Match.com, PlentyofFish and Tinder must retool.
Match Group CEO Shar Dubey said, “As nearly every aspect of our lives is now conducted via video, singles are also becoming increasingly comfortable with video dates, and we are integrating video chat into our apps,” she wrote. “We have offered video chat features in the past and seen low usage, but we think this time user behavior is likely to change more permanently.”
Dubey continued, “In Europe, we’ve seen new subscriber declines of around 5% in aggregate since the crisis began, but in countries severely impacted by COVID-19, like Italy and Spain, we have seen more significant declines,” CEO Shar Dubey added “In the U.S., the impact also depends on the level of cases in the region and varies by brand. For example, Tinder in New York State has seen low double-digit declines in new subscribers since the outbreak accelerated, but much of the rest of the country has held up much better.”
Match Group Inc. (MTCH) is an $18 Billion dollar company that must adjust to the new world, and shareholders have endured a selloff in share prices during the Coronavirus outbreak as the price was cut in half from $90 to $45.
The company provides dating products worldwide. It operates a portfolio of brands, including Tinder, Match, PlentyOfFish, Meetic, OkCupid, OurTime, Pairs, and Hinge, as well as other brands. Match Group, Inc. offers its dating products through its applications and Websites in approximately 40 languages. The company was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Match Group, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of IAC/InterActiveCorp.
