Ever since the rise of online dating a few years back, the major players in the market have dominated the online dating scene. Sites like Match.com and Chemistry.com have built up member bases in the millions, and have expanded into TV advertising to increase their edge even more. However, last year a few things changed, and it seems as if some of the giants are losing their hold.
One major trend in online dating last year was the rise of “niche” dating sites. A niche dating site is one that caters to a specific market, such as lesbian dating or New York City dating. Although these dating sites don’t have nearly as many members as the industry giants, they have gradually been making progress. Some reasons for their progress include the fact that users would rather communicate with likeminded people, and the fact that some major dating sites limit their membership to straight singles.
If you’re wondering how much progress the niche dating sites have made, we have some interesting numbers for you. First of all, from 2007-2008, the major dating sites lost 7% of their market share. Gay and lesbian dating sites grew 54% and increased their market share to 12% total. Religious dating sites grew almost 70% and now control 2.5% of the market. This trend is common across the board, from lesbian dating sites to Latino dating sites. All of the niches are making progress, while the giants seem to be falling off.
Another reason that major dating sites are losing ground could be the pricing of their membership. Some sites, like PerfectMatch.com, charge upwards of $50/month for a monthly membership, while smaller dating sites, like LesbianDatingPersonals.com, only charge $20/month. Although the niche sites don’t offer as advanced of features as the major dating sites (video chat, voice introductions, instant messaging, etc), many people have decided they would rather save the money and lose the unnecessary features.
Ok, so everyone knows that niche dating sites are gaining ground, but what are the major sites doing to prevent this? Well, for the most part, nothing. Some sites are setting up special sections on their site for lesbians, gays, African Americans, Latinos, and more, but for the most part the major sites really aren’t doing anything different.
I’d imagine that this year we’ll see more of the major dating sites create subsections on their site for specific niches, and allow the members in those sections to search specifically for other members in the same sections. This should help the major sites regain ground, and might put some of the smaller niche dating sites out of business. Only time will tell.
January 27th, 2009 by Admin in Lesbian Dating | No Comments
