The document discusses the Dutch and Benelux online dating market. It finds that the market size in the Netherlands is estimated at €30-35 million annually, with around 1-1.5 million regular online daters. The largest dating sites in the Netherlands are Lexa and Relatieplanet. Fast growing players include Twoo, which has seen rapid growth through its mobile apps and social features. The document predicts that future dating sites will focus more on matchmaking through structured behavioral data and unstructured social data, and will leverage new technologies like mobile and augmented reality.
Dutch and Benelux online dating market (iDate Cologne – September 2013)
1. The Dutch and Benelux online dating market
iDate Cologne – September 2013
Eric Klaassen
Dating Insider
www.datinginsider.nl
2. What is the size of the market?
What are fast-growing "
and remarkable players?
What are the mobile trends?
What happens to online dating in 2015?
I want to enter the BeNeLux – where should I start?
“
5. The Benelux: online population
The Netherlands (NL)
16.73 m inhabitants
15.53 m online (93%)
Luxemburg
0.50 m inhabitants
(LUX)
0.46 m online (92%)
Belgium (BE)
10.44 m inhabitants
8.49 m online (81%)
6. Introducing the Dutch: fact or myth
C.
Highest
Twi+er
penetra0on
B.
Tallest
people
on
earth
A.
Highest
cannabis
usage
in
Europe
NationaalKompas, Klub Lange Mensen
7. Top social media penetration
#1 The Netherlands
26%
#1
Indonesia
87%
Emarketer (2013), ComScore (2011)
#1 The Netherlands
27%
10. A brief history of online dating in NL
First datingsite:
D-Date
Social media
explosion,
online dating
taboo starts
fading away
World Bank
Broadband
adoption
increase,"
new dating
entrants like
Relatieplanet
Dutch players
start expanding
to other
markets
Internetpenetration
Free internet
providers
12. Almost 2.5 million online daters in NL
• Online population: 15.5 million
• About 15% uses dating sites, sometimes or regularly
• “Size of the prize”: 2.3 million occasional online daters
• “Active market”: 1.0-1.5 million regular online daters
Maurice de Hond, CBS
13. Size of the Dutch online dating market is
€30-35 million
• Sources at Relatieplanet in 2011: €20-25 million
• Has grown but now stabilising: €30-35 million
• Rev/cap: €2 NL
• Singles growing at steady rate:"
in 2013: 2.8 million"
in 2025: 3.3 million
14. Payment method preference of consumers
For e-commerce:
1. iDEAL (48%)
2. Paying afterwards (24%)
3. Bank transfer (8%)
4. Creditcard (8%)
5. PayPal (5%)
For dating, pay by phone is an alternative.
Provider takes ±25% (call) or 50-70% (SMS).
Blauw research (2012)
15. Breakdown of Dutch dating sites
6 - 7 "
on TV
35 - 45 usable"
for consumers
100 - 150 (semi-)"
professionally managed
600 - 650 dating sites
16. Different types of dating sites and apps
1. General"
Lexa, Relatieplanet
2. Quasi-scientific matchmaking"
Parship, eDarling
3. Special matchmaking"
Paiq, OkCupid
4. Niche"
eMatching, FunkyFish
5. Flirt SoLoMo"
Badoo, Twoo
6. Casual/adult"
Secondlove, Victoria Milan
20. Most unique visitors in NL: Lexa (Meetic)
1. Lexa.nl
455,000
(3.8%)
2. Relatieplanet
261,000
(2.2%)
3. Twoo
134,000
(1.1%)
4. Zoosk
98,000
(0.8%)
5. Pepper.nl
34,000
(0.3%)
6. Secondlove.nl
32,000
(0.3%) lower in active users
7. Knuz.nl
27,000
(0.2%) largest free datingsite
8. EDarling
24,000
(0.2%)
9. e-matching
13,000
(0.1%) niche: higher education
10. Parship
7,000
(0.1%)
July 2013 – Category: Personals
Top 10 (but different comScore category):
22. Lexa tries to upsell to paid subscription
and matchmaking site Lexamore
23. Lexa is #1 in traffic & brand awareness
• Largest datingsite in The Netherlands
• Top spender on TV advertisements
• Brand recognition: #1 in NL 68% brand awareness
24. Relatieplanet (TMG) is one of the oldest
sites in NL
• Acquired by TMG in 2005 for €21 million
• Original founder still active with Relatie.nl
• Claims 200,000 active members per month
• Only one large redesign in 2011 since the start in
2002
29. Twoo: one of the fastest growing
datingsites in history
• Initially started in Belgium in April 2011
• Within a year, 10 million unique visits per month
• Twoo was taken over by Meetic for €18.9 million
• 70,000 paying members (March 2013) delivering
€2.1 million euro of revenues for Q1. €30 per
member, €10 per month.
• Meetic as a whole: marketing costs are 59% of
revenues, but marketing of Twoo is cheaper.
DatingInsider
34. The magic inside
• Text chat to unblur photo of your partner
• No profiles, just a questionnaire
• Special features like BattleDate
• Better matching using artificial intelligence
• Photo ratings and actual on-site behaviour are used for
matching
35. Why users like Paiq
• More focus on personality: chat to
deblur photo first
• More anonymous: no profile
search and blurred photos
• Intelligent matching system with
simple scoring system (1.0-10.0)
• Matching takes into account
physical attractiveness
• Large user base (so plenty of fish)
• Features like BattleDate and photo
rating system are fun
43. Remarkable player: The Inner Circle
• Invitation only (5 per member)
• All members checked before acceptance
• Started within group young, successful people
• Expansion strategy to start in new city with local expert
when there is some traction.
• Active in Amsterdam (6000+ members), London
(4000 members)
46. The Netherlands is a tablet country, still
mainly iPad (32.4%) and Samsung (18.0%)
IDC: market share Q2 2013
47. Twoo:
2011 Nov to 2013 May
doubled
Mobile an important driver of
revenue for SoLoMo flirt
dating sites.
Mobile: essential revenue driver or
dissatisfier when absent?
Meetic Group (excl. Twoo):
2011 Q1Q2: 3.2%
2012 Q1Q2: 3.3%
Mobile not a driver of
revenue for general dating
sites, but important part of
core proposition.
+2.9%
+100%
50. Does online dating suffer from
Facebook?
Which of the following BEST describes how you met your current partner online?
Through an online dating / relationship website
53.5%
Through a social networking website (e.g. Facebook)
7.6%
Through an online discussion board / forum / blog
(not linked to online dating)
8.6%
Through a chat room (not linked to online dating)
17.8%
Other
12.6%
Total (married or co-habitation and met partner online, n=837)
100.0%
DatingInsider
52. Future: the ‘return’ of matchmaking
• Matching based on
‘what people say’ does
not work
• Self-learning algorithms
• Based on:
– Structured data (actual
behaviour)
– Unstructured data (e.g.
social media likes)
53. Future: advanced SoLoMo
• Apple patent to identify
other users that are
nearby
• Highlight, SonarMe
apps
54. Google Glass + FindMyFace + Plus
30 years old
single
lawyer
likes Suits tv-series
Linda
56. Five tips for entering Dutch and Benelux
online dating market
1. Bring a lot of money – or a truly inventive concept
2. Provide trust & transparency
3. Lean development: build–measure–learn
4. Leverage mobile presence – including tablet
5. Grow towards the critical mass
57. Contact for more information:
Eric Klaassen
eric@datinginsider.nl
http://www.datinginsider.nl
Notas del editor
I’m not the typical online dating consultant. If there is one. I run another business, and therefore will leave end of day. So write down my details if you want to catch up.
As you can see, I am in a continuous need for a haircut, and my wardrobe consists of one single shirt only.
There's a huge market for web presence in The Netherlands [size of market numbers]
Small region with relatively many people living in this area, making it an attractive area.
This is Netherlands, almosteveryone online.Belgium: In the Northern part, wherepeoplespeak Dutch, internet adoption as high as in NL.Luxemburg is a quite insignificant market mainlyaddressedbyGermanplayers.Duringthispresentation I willmainly focus on The Netherlandsand the Flemmish (Dutch language) part of Belgium.
Spain, France and Danmark report softdrugs use of 32-33%.In The Netherlands 184 cm for man and woman 172 cm.
I’m not going to talk about windmills and our soft drugs laws, but rather like to emphasis the high penetration of social networks here.What is the country with the highest Facebook penetration? Right, it’s not The Netherlands. It is Indonesia. The Netherlands has 70%.
1994: free internet digital internetBefore 1998, therewereonly Bulletin Board systems.
There's a huge market for web presence in The Netherlands [size of market numbers]
Rev/cap in other countries , CH UK €3.50 SE €2.80 FR€1.90
International andinternationalplayers.6.Much more adult datingsites then in othercountries. Thatcouldbeduetolegislation. a lot with fake profiles which is actually allowed if you mention it. No background checks. quitereliableone is Dutch Cougar, thatgets high ratings. It has the tagline “Put ladies in control”
Big players, remarkable playersType, proposition, price, public
This is not a complete overview, but it does contain the most important players. A lot of free datingsites too.
Yearly I write an article called Does Size MatterFor 2-3 years in a row Lexa and Relatieplanet were a draw. That changed since this year
July is a busy month. So expect these numbers to be up to 25% lower in another month.These are unique visitors per month.Paiq is kleinerdanKnuz en groterdanParship.BadoolijktgroterdanLexa.Type, proposition, price, public
Top of mind brand awareness in 2011 : 27%
Top of mind brand awareness in 2011 : 27%
Top of mind brand awareness in 2011 : 27%
EBITDA H1 2013: 1 751 000 EURO per jaar 3502000 dus 3.5 miljoen. Multiplier van 5x betaald.
I have to make an excuse here: they are working on a new homepage (overdue)
It’s less superficial.
Perfect freemium: using all features, but soon feel the urge to do small upsell. Payment is very easy by phone.
En ook nog andere dingen – even checken
Less emphasis on relationships. It doesn’t mean all new sites are casual sites. It means that in communication, brands shift emphasis less they are a dating site.
There's a huge market for web presence in The Netherlands [size of market numbers]
funkyFish has 26000 profiles of Christian youth
There's a huge market for web presence in The Netherlands [size of market numbers]
It’s no longer based on partner preference, or in other words: what people think they like themselves. Because that type of matching has proven to be wrong time after time.
There's a huge market for web presence in The Netherlands [size of market numbers]
1. In general segment, it will be extremely hard to win without a lot of marketing money. In niches there is more room. Standard 2. Good customer service3. I’ve never seen it work. And immediately your product is completely non-differentiation.4. Lean startup