Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of Zerodha, recently took to social media platform X to explore the business of matchmaking apps as India moves from traditional relationships towards more casual dating.
What Happened: Kamath shared stats and figures about this growing trend in the Indian market, exploring its various facets in relation to the human need for interaction. “Beyond AI, computers or cellphones, the human need to interact in person is paramount,” he said in a post.
Kamath said that with growing Western influence on the youth in India, the country is ripe for dating apps to explode even further. To support his thesis, Kamath shared India-specific statistics on dating apps: India is the fifth-largest dating market in the world, and the country has seen 300% more people on dating apps than there were five years ago.
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Moreover, among other things, he said India is set to be the second-largest dating services market in the world and witnessed $9.9 million spent on dating apps in 2022—more than double from a year ago. He also said that India spends more on dating apps than the global average.
Kamath breaks India’s market into dating, urban matrimony and matrimony. He classifies apps like Bumble and Tinder as casual dating apps, Shaadi.com and Jeevansaathi.com as matrimony apps, while he sees apps like Aisle and Hinge as urban matrimony apps, which walk the line between casual dating and matrimony.
He also notes, citing data from oldrope.club, that casual dating apps like Bumble and Tinder see lower revenue from users, earning up to $10 million-$20 million. Meanwhile, platforms like Shaadi.com and Jeevansaathi.com are likely to be at the higher end of the scale, earning up to $55 million, reflecting greater spending capacity from those looking for more commitment.
Notably, the QuackQuack dating app topped the charts as the most downloaded in India, according to data from AppTweak, with Tinder and Bumble filling out the top three.
While Kamath sees growth in the sector given the sheer size of the under-penetrated target market, he also pointed to problems of retention and a massive gender skew on dating apps currently, leading to low recurring revenue.
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