In the age of Covid-19 more adults are single and seeking relationships – and more involved relationships at that – than ever before. Because the amount of prospective singles has only increased since this time last year, and due to bubbling dissatisfaction with broad, depersonalized apps like Tinder, the market now sees an increased demand for smart tools to connect singles.
As an entrepreneur or prospective app developer, entering the dating app market could be a smart bet for your business. If you define your audience well and carve out a signature brand identity, you can generate ad revenue and online traffic within months. You don’t even need the help of corporate financial backing if you find the right business and software development partner. Here’s how a consultant like OpenSource Technologies can help you craft a unique dating app and get singles together in the spirit of Valentine’s Day.
Background and Figures on the Dating App Market
Computer dating programs (and online dating) have existed in some capacity since the 1960s but have only started to find mainstream relevance during the early 2000s. Back then, OkCupid and Match.com changed the market by introducing the concept of online matchmaking algorithms. Fast-forward to 2012 and the advent of Tinder, and the market exploded and morphed into the dating app market we know today.
Now the multibillion dollar dating app industry has expanded to apps and sites such as Christian Mingle, JDate, Grindr, Seeking Arrangements, Black People Meet, East Meets East, Hinge, Chispa, Bumble and others, which connect singles in diverse capacities. And dating apps don’t just connect by demographics, they also connect based on shared interests, with apps connecting fans of various TV shows, genres of music, and so forth.
As for the numbers? Eager singles are using dating apps to look for meaningful romantic connections at higher rates, compounded by the desire to connect to others during the isolating pandemic.
Dating app users have increased across the demographic board:
- Adult women and men are marrying at lower rates than before, contributing to the population growth of single adults.
- 3 in 10 adults (30%) of Americans have used dating apps, including 52% of adults who have never been married. These figures are expected to increase.
- The number of adults who have used a dating app has nearly doubled since 2015.
- Dating app users include 20% or more of all adults in every gender, age, ethnic, sexual orientation and education demographic
- In terms of young Americans: 48% of adults aged 18-29 have used a dating app
The figures referenced above may be broad, but they convey a clear picture: adults of all backgrounds are both single in higher rates and ready to use dating apps. If they found dating apps that met their specific needs and interests, they might be able to find an even better match than if they stuck to traditional, conglomerate apps.
Why Starting a Dating App Now Can Work
So why not use a mainstream dating app with millions of users? A lot of the larger dating apps like Tinder can be impersonal and imprecise. You will most likely match with someone, but you won’t necessarily find the audience you are looking for. Moreover, the people you match with are almost completely random – creating a community online is difficult when the people you connect with have almost nothing in common with you.
Right now, singles (and everyone for that matter) are experiencing isolation and loneliness at significant rates both qualitatively and statistically. Creating a dating app, particularly one with a specific focus and range, can be a fun way to connect singles for Valentine’s Day and also serve a significant social function. Will you create a dating app for singles in your geographic area? For singles with a specific shared interest? With an idea to create a space on an app or website for like-minded individuals to meet and potentially connect, you can use software to stimulate necessary human contact. In other words, the dating app market holds opportunities not just for financial growth, but also social good.
How a Software Consultant Can Help Craft the Dating App of Your Dreams
Dating apps offer fun and tantalizing services, but at their core require digital and software infrastructure in order to work. Having a software developer or consultant help you craft your dating app may be an excellent use of resources, especially when your business is in its early stages. OpenSource Technologies has experience crafting dating and social networking apps, and can partner with your business. First, if you want to partner with OST or another software developer, you will need to present some information to clarify your business goals and operations.
- First, you need to define what platform you want your dating program to work on. Will it be an app? A website? Depending on what platform you choose, the software developers will likely need to develop a detailed database.
- Next, you need to define what sort of profiles you want to build. The information provided in a profile can include (though is not limited to) age, location, interests, what he, she, or they are looking for in a partner, income, education, drinking habits, and so forth. Depending on what sorts of profiles you build, the developers must create a way to code and transmit this information across the backend database.
- From there, you need to define the sorts of interactions users can have with each other. Options include but are not limited to chat screens, calls, video calling, and image sharing.
- Finally, you will define your business model. Is your service free, or would you like users to subscribe? Do you plan on creating a dual business model – one where there are both free users and higher-tier subscription members? Would you like to incorporate ads for revenue? These are the big-picture business questions developers need to know.
- After you design your business model and customer interaction roadmap, then you can move onto design. You can include references for colors, interface types and other UI/UX elements during this step.
Once you define these key aspects of your dating app’s purpose and business model, you’re ready to partner with an app-builder. No one should have to be lonely on Valentine’s Day. With a dating app designed by you with the realities of the pandemic in mind singles will have exciting new ways to date and connect deeply with each other.
