Contributed by: kellyseal on Monday, October 05 2020 @ 09:30 am
Last modified on Monday, October 05 2020 @ 09:48 am
Match Group shared in an exclusive interview with Marketwatch[*1] that they expect its dating app Hinge to triple its revenue by the end of the year.
Analysts shared that they are optimistic about the dating app’s prospects too, with 6 million monthly active users and about 400,000 subscribers. Hinge has the opportunity to add more paid features and can raise subscription prices as ways of increasing revenue among its so-called “premium” customer base of high earners. According to Marketwatch, Morgan Stanley analyst Lauren Cassel said, “we believe Hinge is Match’s next major revenue and earnings growth driver.”
She added: “[W]e estimate Hinge will likely reach about 63% the number of Tinder subscribers at scale, but should be able to monetize those users at a much higher rate.”
This is big news for the parent company of star dating apps like Tinder and OkCupid. Match Group has seen an opportunity with Hinge after its initial investment in 2017, because since, the dating app has grown its user base twenty times.
Match Group has been modeling the app’s revenue structure after the highly successful Tinder, where people can pay individually for enhanced features. One Hinge feature that has been very successful according to Marketwatch was the option to pay to have your profile shown to a lot more daters, and another popular one has been the ability to purchase roses for specific matches if you want to really get their attention (similar to Tinder’s Superlike function).
Interestingly, the feature where users can see who liked them first is free on Hinge, and also their most popular feature, whereas on Tinder it’s part of the paid Tinder Gold subscription. Match Group has no plans to monetize Hinge’s feature for now.
Hinge launched a global marketing campaign last year called “designed to be deleted,” to establish the dating app as an alternative to the game-like swiping of Tinder. The goal was to capture millennials who were serious about finding a relationship and to be done with dating apps altogether. The company also wanted to branch out from its customer bases in New York and L.A. where the majority of Hinge users live and begin to attract daters across the country. The new marketing campaign has helped them do this, as well as grow its customer base in Australia, the U.K. and other parts of Europe where it has gained traction.
The original Hinge app prior to its acquisition by Match Group did market itself for more serious daters but focused on matching people via their existing social circles. It went through changes to its user interface, too.
Match Group also shared with Marketwatch that it is looking to increase revenue among its other dating apps in addition to Hinge, and is currently trying different features and promotions to see what attracts certain audiences. For younger Gen Z daters, the livestreaming feature on Plenty of Fish has been very popular. While the feature is free, users can purchase virtual gifts to capture someone’s attention, which has been a revenue generator for the company. The livestream feature has led to more than 2 million matches.
Amarnath Thombre, who oversees properties outside of Tinder in the Americas told Marketwatch: “If you step back as a company, there’s a new growth vector outside Tinder now.”