Date: 14. October 2015

UK's Dating Industry 2015: On the Rise Again!
British online dating sector pleased about 166 million GBP turnover

LONDON – After a period of weak economic activity, the British online dating market in 2014 recovered with nearly 5% growth. For the first time, operators of online dating platforms achieved notable revenue from smartphone users. Another focus point of the current market study from LeadingDatingSites.co.uk is the data hack of the ‘cheating’ site AshleyMadison and its effects on the relational trust of the Brits.

Monetisation of “Smartphone Dating”

Flirting and searching for a romantic partner happens everywhere and all the time now, thanks to the prevalence of smartphones. However, the mobile users’ willingness to pay is significantly lower than that of PC and Notebook users. Dating site operators have therefore turned their focus to developing their mobile products technically and with a view to clever sales strategies. Through this, they have managed to generate a significant portion of income from app users. The complete turnover of the UK dating market in 2014 lay at 166.6 million GBP, an increase of 7.9 million GBP compared to the previous year.

Data hack blows the whistle on cheaters

AdultFriendFinder (sex contact) and AshleyMadison (affair dating site), two of the biggest international adult dating portals, were effected by data theft in 2015. Despite the release of millions of personal users' data, users continued their search on the Web for a no-strings affair unperturbed: the number of new sign ups in August was even higher than before the data hack. Henning Wiechers of LeadingDatingSites.co.uk states: “The hack has provided exciting headlines, but nevertheless the British infidelity continues to flourish.”