Online dating companies hope products targeted at specific communities, from single parents and gay men to “throuples,” will reignite growth in an industry struggling with user declines for the world’s two biggest dating apps, Tinder and Bumble.
Investors have welcomed Grindr, which markets itself specifically to gay and bisexual men, but have increasingly shunned the mainstream, all-purpose dating app giant Match Group, which owns 40 products including Tinder as well as rival Bumble, valued at $1.2 billion.
Meanwhile, Feeld, which was founded 10 years ago, has grown a user base of “curious” and “open-minded” people who want to engage with sexual preferences, non-monogamy and polyamory, from open relationships to threesomes, so-called “throuples” and foursomes, or “quads.”
Grindr’s shares have more than doubled since the start of 2023, valuing the app at $2 billion. Meanwhile, shares of Match Group and Bumble have fallen from pandemic-era highs. Match, the $8.8 billion industry leader, has lost a fifth of its market cap since the start of 2023, while Bumble’s shares have halved.
According to Sensor Tower figures, the number of monthly active users of Match Group’s largest services, Tinder and Bumble, is declining, while Grindr’s numbers continue to grow.
Match’s other flagship product, the relationship-focused Hinge, has bucked the trend and continues to gain users, but not enough to make up for those leaving Tinder.
Grindr says targeting specific demographics or communities is an advantage, not an obstacle to growth: Companies with a “deep understanding” of their users “have a huge opportunity to build really great products and grow revenue from them,” said CEO George Allison.
This view is reflected in the apps’ revenue, which rose by more than a third in the three months to March compared to the same period last year, while Match’s revenue rose 9% to $860 million in the same period, while Bumble’s revenue rose by a tenth to $268 million.
Allison, who is gay and describes himself as a “former heavy Grindr user,” added that his team’s “deep understanding of gay culture” has allowed them to create a product that meets the “very specific needs” of its users.
The success of these community-focused apps may be pushing Match Group to pivot to more niche products to please investors and revive slowing growth.
The company’s first product, Archer, which offers a premium subscription and was downloaded more than 1.5 million times in its first year, according to Sensor Tower data. Match Chief Financial Officer Gary Swidler said on the company’s earnings call that he expects Archer to soon become “a bigger part of the equation.”
Match has expanded its portfolio of brands in recent years, including products for Black, Latino, Christian and single parents, as well as an exclusive “dating app for aspirational people” called The League.
Match said direct revenue from its community-based products in the three months to March was up by about a quarter compared with the same period last year.
Match said in its latest earnings call that it expects its own brands, which target specific age groups, to offset declines from mainstream, traditional brands such as OkCupid “as early as next year.” The online dating company reports second-quarter earnings on Tuesday.
U.K.-based Feeld, which targets people eager to explore open relationships and polyamory, averaged 1.5 million monthly active users in the three months through June, up more than 10% from the same period in 2023, according to Sensor Tower. The company said it has been profitable since 2017. It did not provide revenue details.
CEO Ana Kirova attributes Field’s growth to the app’s focus on community. “Because we have such a close relationship with our members, we have a better intuitive sense of what they want,” she said. User loyalty, especially when it comes to purchasing premium features, reflects the app’s uniqueness, rather than mimicking mainstream products like Tinder, she said.
Other niche apps include the fitness-focused Datefit and US-based Farmers Only, which runs on the slogan “City people don’t get it” and is made for people living in rural areas.
The continued rise of these products reflects a growing industry recognition that young people want apps that are customized to them, and are increasingly seeking partners who share their interests and backgrounds.
“The appeal of dating apps is that you can meet anyone — people who are completely different from you,” says Boston University researcher Katherine Coduto, but she adds that many young people want a “more authentic, traditional experience” of meeting a partner through a shared interest or experience.
By quickly weeding out users who don’t fit certain criteria, the dating industry hopes that a customized product based on specific interests and demographics will lure back users who report being “overwhelmed” by mainstream services.
“The issue of quality over quantity is one of the reasons we’re tired of mainstream products,” says Liesel Shalaby, a researcher at the University of Arizona.
Academic and industry studies have consistently shown that most singles use multiple dating apps simultaneously, so Match Group seems confident that it can support mainstream giants Tinder and Hinge by attracting users to its customized product, Shalabi said.
“The growth of these niche products is a potential sign that the online dating sector remains healthy,” said Benjamin Black, a research analyst at Deutsche Bank.
The benefit of targeting specific interests or communities is that it can reduce the number of sign-ups a new product or startup needs to build a suitable matching pool. “Having something in common goes a long way in facilitating meaningful connections,” says Coduto.
Users are loyal and motivated, and often willing to pay for premium services. “Specificity is their strength,” Shalabi notes. “They understand the market well and have a loyal user base.”
But some analysts warn that a product tailored to a demographic may never be able to compete with mainstream giants like Tinder and Bumble.
“There’s a clear lack of ability to scale,” Black said. “Even if there is a vibrant community, it’s often small, and trying to expand beyond that can alienate users who are already there.”
