Online Dating Trends: The Link Between Online Dating And Beauty Products

While women are searching for love online, they are also searching for new cosmetic products, according to recent research by Google UK analysts Bickey Russell and Elizabeth Song.

"The indexed search volumes for top search terms in cosmetics (including terms such as 'mac cosmetics,' 'avon,' 'make up tips') have largely followed corresponding figures for queries related to women seeking men (e.g. 'single men in London,' 'find boyfriend'), Russell and Song report. Dating and cosmetic products have a historically close relationship, a trend that is almost certainly the result of the fierce competition that can be found in the dating pool. As more and more women turn to the Internet to find love, the need to stand out from the crowd becomes increasingly great, boosting the sale of cosmetic products.

Russell and Song also discovered that, though the financial crisis has had a traumatic effect on countless industries, love and beauty appear to be recession-proof commodities. Shortly after the September 11th attacks, "Leonard Lauder of Estee Lauder coined the term "lipstick index" to describe how women continued to purchase high-impact beauty products during times of economic uncertainty." This theory has held true throughout the current recession, with Mintel market research data "showing that beauty product sales in the UK grew 30% between 2004 and 2009 from £7.4 billion to £9.6 billion, in contrast to a dismal 9% for clothes and shoes during this period."

Online dating has also entered a period of growth thanks to the recession. According to Nielsen research, "unique visitors to dating websites grew by 20% in 2008 when the economy was at its most uncertain, compared with 9% growth the year before."

In uncertain financial times, these two industries have continued to thrive while others have collapsed around them. While the market for luxury goods like designer handbags has suffered, "cosmetics continue to fly off shelves because British women are still intent on looking their best as well as attracting future partners." As the desire for a more attractive appearance grows, and the purchase of beauty products grows with it, women in the UK feel more and more confident about themselves, and become increasingly willing to enter the online dating market. As a result, the beauty and dating industries have formed a reciprocal relationship: as growth in the beauty sector increases, more women join online dating sites, and as interest in online dating rises, more women turn to the beauty industry to enhance their chances of finding love.