- Millennials and Baby Boomers emerge as the most active dating app users
- Survey shows spending time with a partner or spouse is a top priority for happiness
- More than 50% of Gen Z said spending time with a partner didn’t impact happiness at all
London, UK - As Valentine’s Day approaches, the search for love has increasingly gone digital with a significant rise in global visits to online dating and matchmaking websites, reveals data analytics firm Euromonitor International.
According to Euromonitor’s Voice of the Consumer: Lifestyles Survey, 16% of global internet-connected consumers now visit these platforms at least weekly, up from 12% in 2019. This trend has gained momentum post-pandemic as more people have embraced online platforms for building romantic connections.
Aiste Kriauciunaite, consumer insights consultant at Euromonitor International, said: "As consumers increasingly interact with AI chatbots and virtual tools for everyday tasks, the desire for human connection remains valuable, even if it’s online. Dating app and websites usage is growing steadily worldwide creating opportunities and becoming a norm among digital natives.”
Many more people worldwide using dating sites post pandemic
In 2024, 49% of global consumers engaged in virtual online experiences, up from 43% in 2019. Males are more frequent users of online dating websites. Some 13% of men globally report using dating sites one to two times a week compared to 11% of women.
In comparison to the data during the pandemic, there is a considerable increase in the amount of people visiting online dating sites - from 12% in 2019, 15% in 2023 and 16% in 2024 with regional differences:
- Asia Pacific: from 8% in 2019 to 13% in 2023 and 14% in 2024
- Europe: from 7% in 2019 to 9% in 2023 and 10% in 2024
- North America: from 7% in 2019 to 8% in 2023 and 10% in 2024
- Middle East and Africa: from 9% in 2019 to 16% in 2023 and 15% in 2024
- Latin America: from 8% in 2019 to 9% in 2023 and 8% in 2024
Visiting dating websites one to two times a week by age group in 2024:
- 15-29 years old – 14%, 30-44 years old – 15%, 45-59 years old – 9%, 60+ – 8%
- Never visited an online dating website in 2024: 15-29 years old – 50%, 30-44 years old – 51%, 45-59 years old – 66%, 60+ years old - 72%.
- Global single pet owners are more likely to visit online dating website compared to non-pet-owners 53% vs. 40%.
Globally, spending time with partner or spouse was the top priority for happiness, People are also prioritising work-life balance more, setting boundaries between work and their personal lives, with 55% in 2024 reporting strict boundaries, up from 50% in 2019.
Kriauciunaite said: "Baby Boomers rank quality time with their significant other as their number one priority, while only 13.8% of Gen Z did the same. In fact, 50.4% of Gen Z said that spending time with a partner didn't impact their happiness at all.”