Japan

Image: Match Group

Match Group has appointed former Plenty of Fish CEO Malgosia Green as CEO of Match Group Asia, who will now be based in Singapore. The company has said it will be targeting the growing Asian market in the coming months as well as focusing on AI development, and a huge step forward is having an executive in the region.

Green was appointed by Match Group CEO Bernard Kim, who has been under fire from shareholders about the fourth quarter revenue decline because of poor product rollouts from Tinder. He has named four main points of growth for the company, one of which is focusing on the Asian market.

In an interview with Fast Company, Green said: “Given the huge potential of the region, and how large it is . . . it made a lot more sense to have someone specifically dedicated to Asia itself, and to be based in the region.”

Match Group has named new key executives, including its first CTO and a new President and CFO, as well as a new focus on four key businesses – Tinder, Hinge, Asia and Evergreen & Emerging.

According to the company’s press release, Gary Swindler was named to the top position of Match Group as President and CFO, and Will Wu joins as chief technology officer, a newly created position, to oversee product innovation across all apps. Swindler was promoted from his position as CFO and COO and Wu joins from Snap Inc., where he oversaw the commercialization of Snap’s developer platforms and spearheaded the creation of its most famous features like “Discover” and the “Chat” messaging feature, as well as Snap’s social gaming feature. 

Match Group is betting big on Wu, who brings an impressive background with developing one of the earliest revenue streams for Snap, as well as developing Snap’s primary social engagement driver.

Revenue growth for dating conglomerate Match Group has fallen in a disappointing second quarter for the company. The market responded and the company’s stock fell more than twenty percent, bringing its stock price down 42 percent of its value since the beginning of the year.

Match Group held its earnings call with investors, reporting revenue of $795 million compared to $804 million that analysts expected. In addition to this, Match Group lowered revenue forecasts for Q3 from $800 to $790 million according to CNBC News, which includes the impact from foreign exchange rates falling compared to the dollar. To complicate things for Match Group, it also means that there would be no growth at all between the quarters.

There were some hopeful signs despite the news. The company pointed out that overall revenue grew twelve percent compared to this time last year. In addition, the number of paid users increased 10 percent to 16.4 million according to the shareholder report, and revenue per paid user rose three percent to $15.86.

Google has reached an agreement with app developers who sued over unfair Play Store practices, including charging a 30 percent commission on all in-app purchases. Part of the settlement requires Google to pay developers $90 million in lost revenue over the years, including Match Group.

According to Tech Crunch, in addition to the $90 million payout, Google will be revising its Developer Distribution Agreement to allow developers to contact users outside of the app, and to be more transparent with annual reports detailing app removals and account terminations, for example. In addition, Google will add a new “Indie Apps Corner” to its Play Store to highlight apps made by smaller startups and independent developers, who often get overlooked for the big players.

The settlement doesn’t resolve a larger problem of allowing developers to use third party payment systems and cutting Google Play and Apple Stores out of these commissions, which currently is not allowed in either store. Match Group and others have sued both Apple and Google for the right to have their own in-app payment system without forcing users to go through the stores, and for having to pay a percentage of every purchase to the tech giants.

Several of Japan’s largest companies have turned to an AI dating app to help their employees find love during the pandemic.

According to Kyodo News, about 800 companies have signed up to offer the app Aill goen to employees, with the aim that they will be happier and more productive workers if they are in a good relationship. Companies are also hoping the dating app will provide a way to help employees who might be struggling with their mental health, since they have been unable to physically interact with others because of lockdowns.

The pool of matches will be limited only to participating company employees, providing a level of safety and accountability for users of the app. Aill goen is being offered to employees as part of their benefits package at work, according to Kyodo News. 

The dating app industry is expected to grow to over $11 billion by 2028, thanks to the increased use of smartphones and people turning to them for connection during the pandemic.

A new report by Grand View Research found that the industry is doing better than ever and will only continue to grow at a rate of 5.6% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2028. The increasing global reach of smartphones and internet access has helped to propel the industry forward, as well as pandemic lockdowns and the increased interest in virtual dating.

The study also found that the 18- to 25-year-old market is expected to register the second largest CAGR of 5.8 percent over the same period. Dating apps have their eyes on Gen Z daters who are looking for something more engaging than the typical routine of swiping through profiles on an app, as they have grown up with smartphones and virtual experiences. Many of the new offerings that apps like Tinder are unveiling include interactive content. Tinder and Bumble have both recently announced that they will be offering experiences in the metaverse where daters can create avatars and meet in virtual spaces to date.