According to a ‘Think with Google’ report, online dating platforms are growing in popularity in India faster than traditional matrimony services.
The ‘Year in Search’ report provides an insight into consumers’ searching habits and identifies noteworthy trends from 2018. It also revealed that 400 million people in India are now online, approximately one third of the total population.
Searches relating to dating in general increased by 40%. However, the total volume of matrimony searches remained three times higher than those about dating.
Interest in both online dating and matrimony brands rose throughout the year, but online dating (37%) grew significantly more than marriage-based products (13%).
Country Director for Google India Vikas Agnihotri said to Business Today: “The online space in India has never been more vibrant. India has become the fastest internet consuming country in the world and the internet has now become the bridge to [India’s] aspirations.”
Bumble was officially launched in India with a number of region specific updates at the end of 2018 and quickly became one of the country’s most used dating apps.
Online video has also experienced a prominent rise and Google estimates there could be an audience of 500 million people in India by the end of 2020.
Video app TikTok had been banned in India last month after claims were made that it encouraged the creation and distribution of pornography, but the embargo has since been lifted.
View the full report here.