Internet dating firms are expecting a spurt in business as Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and more and more people log on to the internet to find some love.
“It is quite seasonal – we begin to see an increase in interest starting in early January and this continues to increase up to Valentine’s Day,” said a spokesperson for match.com in Britain and Ireland, Britain’s biggest dating website when it comes to earnings.
“It’s the time when people reflect and wish to look for a partner.”
Twenty percent of all new relationships are as a result of online dating site matches reveals YouGov, the polling company.
In 2011 Match bought an 80 per cent stake in Meetic, a Paris based dating site, so that they could create a European dating scene. It was worth almost €350m. Quite recently, Cupid has bought up dating sites throughout India, Brazil and Germany.
But it seems the growth spurt of online dating is not always continuous, as Meetic’s shares dropped more than twenty five percent in 2011. There are further issues about to arise and that is the competition from Facebook and Google, who are soon to be offering free dating sites.
A match. com spokesperson said that online dating could remain firm as individuals do not reduce opportunities to get hooked up when they have money concerns. It is also getting cheaper by the minute to access and become members of dating sites.
