Tinder to Launch High-End Subscription and Product Refresh

Tinder
  • Monday, August 14 2023 @ 08:07 am
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Match Group announced in its quarterly earnings call that its star app Tinder will be launching a “high-end” subscription tier this fall. In addition, Tinder will debut a product refresh to cater to the Gen Z dating market.

The company has been testing price points in different markets, including a $500 subscription that was called Tinder Vault, according to CPO Mark Van Ryswyk. In an interview with Fast Company earlier this year, he noted that there’s a market for daters who are willing to pay for good matches, as evidenced by the success of its exclusive dating app The League.

However, the price point was arguably high for an app that will not include human matchmakers, but instead will continue to rely on technology to serve up better matches.

So far, there’s no confirmation of price or what the new high-end subscription service will include, although in the company’s earnings report it noted that it will be “substantially higher” than Tinder’s current highest tier subscription. Part of the appeal, according to Tech Crunch, is that Tinder will limit the number of people who can join and make it a more exclusive offering.

Match Group also announced it would roll out a product refresh of Tinder later this year which caters to Gen Z daters, the core of its user base. The refresh will be AI-driven as the company has been focusing on this, and will include prompts, quizzes and conversation starters. Tinder will cater to serving “the right content to the right people” through AI, according to Tech Crunch.

Match Group’s letter to shareholders says: “While the core Swipe feature will remain central to the Tinder experience, the changes are meant to make the app more dynamic and engaging.”

According to Reuters, changes to Tinder are helping Match Group as a whole after a rough couple of quarters. The company is on track to beat analysts’ expectations for third quarter, which caused its shares to climb in early August by 11 percent in extended trading.

One contributing factor is Tinder’s offering of more flexible subscription plans. The cheaper plans that users can purchase for smaller durations (especially its weekly subscription plans) have been popular among inflation-wary consumers, who are looking for more benefits from the app for less money. On the flip side, Match Group is also betting on those who are willing to pay a lot of money for an exclusive and more individualized experience.

Marketing spend has also been crucial to growth in terms of new user sign-ups for the app. Tinder’s “It Starts With a Swipe” campaign was particularly effective among young women, according to Reuters.

Hinge continues to see substantial growth, which is another contributing factor to the company’s improved outlook.