With the new year just upon us, yesterday was set to be one of the busiest days for online dating of the coming year.
With New Year’s Day falling on a Friday, January 3rd was dubbed “Dating Sunday”, as people reassess their life and prepare themselves for a brand new year.
Match.com said that during this period between Christmas and Valentine’s Day, they see a 60% spike in new singles joining their site looking for love.
This leads to 1m new dates happening on their service, Match.com’s Julie Spira recently wrote in a blog post.
Not only this, but the IAC-owned dating site also sees over 50m messages sent and 15m new photos uploaded.
Speaking to Mashable, Match.com’s Chief Scientific Advisor Dr. Helen Fisher explained why this is, saying: “Showing up to parties alone and feeling pressure from friends and family – it becomes vividly clear that you don’t have a person in your life.
“Moreover, the beginning of the new year is a natural time for rejuvenation and renewal and has been for thousands of years. So, around this time, we naturally begin to look around for true love.”
And this isn’t just true for Match.com, with New York-based mobile dating app Hinge saying they also see a big increase, with January easily their busiest month of the year.
Coffee Meets Bagel also said that last January it saw a 44% increase in matches and a 56% rise in messages exchanged between users on the app.
Speaking to Buzzfeed News about this, Coffee Meets Bagel’s Liina Potter spoke about the Christmas period being a “cuffing season” – a time where people might enter relationships to get through tough winter months.
Potter said: “We think there is an uptick in matching and messaging post-Christmas because people are seeking a flame to warm the winter/post-Holiday chill.
“You could say ‘cuffing season’ is in full effect. In the New Year, people also seek the seed to create new beginnings, which includes new relationships.”
With these two factors working together, January has always been a huge month for online dating services, with the next few months set to be a busy time for all dating businesses.