Contributed by: kellyseal on Friday, March 08 2024 @ 11:23 am
Last modified on Friday, March 08 2024 @ 11:29 am
Dating app Bumble is refocusing its brand and has announced significant layoffs following a disappointing fourth quarter earnings report.
The popular female-forward dating company plans to cut 30% of its staff, or 350 employees, and revamp its app to focus on its friend-finding feature.
Bumble also plans to relaunch the app in the second quarter and offer a “compelling modern experience” with a “stronger appeal to younger users” according to Axios[*1] , citing Bumble CEO Lidiane Jones’s remarks in the company’s earnings call. The new features focus on making profile-building easier, with “insights on profile pictures, and better app performance” according to Axios.
Jones said in the earnings call that there are growing demands from customers for the app to focus on friendship and platonic connections, according to Tech Crunch. She also noted that the swiping format doesn’t really work for the friendship-finding part of the app.
"I think there is a generational transition that we are seeing," Jones noted in the earnings call.
“Candidly, we have been slow to realize this broader vision with Bumble BFF thus far,” she told investors on the call, according to Tech Crunch[*2] . “Going forward, we will focus our reinvestment to accelerate a bolder strategy for Bumble For Friends, one that will focus on building equitable and safe friendships across communities of people with similar interests that want real-life connections.”
There is a larger trend of younger users dumping their dating apps in favor of other options, whether it’s meeting people through other social platforms, or attending events where they might meet others more organically.
Tinder has seen downloads of its app fall in recent quarters, which is part of the reason behind the company’s new pricing ventures such as the VIP Tinder service which goes for $500 per month, as well as more premium features. The company is also investing heavily in AI-based features to help attract more young users to the platform, as is Bumble.
Bumble’s strategy is to focus its platform beyond dating.
“…What we want to do is actually shift to that paradigm and [make] Bumble For Friends a lot more about building and finding communities. And this is truly what our customers are telling [us] — they love being part of our platform,” Jones said. But she added, “It’s really hard to connect with each other. So, we are really going to accelerate the investment in that.”
Jones went on to say to investors on the call: "We think there is an opportunity to approach younger users differently to meet the need of more organic discovery of friendship, companionship, love and beyond.”