Online matchmaker sign-ups increase 30%

‘Singles now have more time on hand’

April 25, 2020 10:21 pm | Updated 11:27 pm IST

Net bonding:  The trend was visible across user categories but was also clearly led by smaller towns.

Net bonding: The trend was visible across user categories but was also clearly led by smaller towns.

Online matchmaking sites are witnessing a sudden spurt in new sign-ups and interactions between potential brides, grooms and their families after the COVID-19 lockdown kicked in.

Leading players in the trade — BhartMatrimony and Shaadi.com — say they have witnessed at least a 30% increase in profile acquisitions and interaction between existing members.

BharatMatrimony founder and MD Murugavel Janakiraman told The Hindu that: “A lot of young professionals, currently working from home, are able to get some personal time as they don’t get stranded in traffic, or spend time on shopping, or socialising due to the lockdown. We are suddenly seeing match-hunting becoming a sort of family affair. Also, reaching out to prospects has got a lot better now when compared with finding them in offices, in the middle of meetings or in traffic.”

Reconfirming the trend, Anupam Mittal, founder and CEO of Shaadi.com said, “Lockdown has accelerated online matchmaking sign-ups and engagements by at least 30%. We see a clear spurt in engagement/dialogue between parties, our existing members. So, overall, we are experiencing a significant spike now, compared with the pre-lockdown days.”

As per lead players, the trend was visible across the board, including genders, job profiles and income groups; however, it was clearly led by tier 3 cities and smaller towns.

“We see a 2x growth in tier III cities compared with metros and tier 1s. Matchmaking has been increasingly moving online and as a secular trend, it is expected to continue in India, where marriage is not about ‘if’ but about ‘when,’ added Mr. Mittal.

Shalini Singh, founder of andwemet, a niche matchmaking firm, said her platform had seen a significant increase in memberships since the lockdown.

‘Fake profiles also up’

“The number of sign-ups has gone up by an average of 400% week-on-week from what it was before COVID-19. At the same time, we also see an increase in the number of fake profiles. To counter them, we are introducing more advanced profile filtering and privacy controls technology.”

The trend of increasing sign-ups is also visible on EliteMatrimony, which caters to high networth individuals, and celebrities. About 60 million people are looking for life-partners at any given time in India of which some 10 to 12 million people get married a year, that means 24 million couples. Some six to seven million people register on online matchmaking sites of which 20% of them find a match, says Mr. Murugavel.

BharatMatrimony leads the country’s organised online matchmaking sector with a 60% market share, Shaadi.com has 30% while Jeevansathi holds 10%. In addition to these, there are a hundreds of regional, language/community-based websites and portals. All players put together, country’s online matchmaking sector is pegged at ₹1,000 crore, he added.

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