Loneliness brightened up without money – WWN No. 19 (7464) of 02/02/2023

Russian online dating services in 2022 were able to increase their audience due to the departure of foreign competitors: Mamba says 20% growth, Teamo — 30%, VK Dating — 73%. But they failed to make serious money on new customers due to problems with accepting payments in the App Store and Google Play, as well as restrictions on advertising. Foreign services, including Tinder, remain popular primarily with girls, as there are more foreigners there, experts explain. They believe that the income of services will still grow, because in times of crisis people “want to get closer” and do not save on acquaintances.

Kommersant polled popular dating services about the results of their work in 2022. Mamba said that last year’s revenue decreased by 10%, but net profit doubled. According to the data Kartoteka.ruin 2021, the income of Mamba JSC amounted to 1 billion rubles, net profit – 24 million rubles.

Problems with payments became the main reason for the decline in revenue, explains Andrey Bronetsky, CEO of the service: Apple and Google have disabled the ability to pay with cards in applications against the backdrop of sanctions. Apple at the same time left the ability to pay from a mobile phone of some operators. “Mamba” opened the possibility of paying on the site, then Google allowed to accept payments by Russian bank cards in the application, but the situation has not changed for Apple, Mr. Bronevitsky specified. Among the negative factors that influenced the dating services segment in 2022, he names not only problems with payment, but also partial mobilization and departure of part of the service’s audience from Russia.

At the same time, Mamba notes an increase in the number of customers by 20% by the end of the year due to the departure of some competitors. Tinder stopped accepting payments from Russian cards in 2022, Badoo completely stopped working in the Russian Federation.

The revenue of the Pure app in the Russian Federation grew by only 25%, while in other countries where the app is present, it grew by an average of 80%, Olga Petrunina, CEO of the service, said: “Of course, the problem is that payments have fallen off.” In addition, she notes, services can no longer be advertised within the App Store and Google Play in Russia, as well as buy search advertising on Google.

The Teamo service in 2022 grew by 30% in terms of audience and by the same amount in terms of turnover, says its CEO Anna Grishacheva: “But it is important to note that there was a sharp drop in revenue from Android and iOS applications.” According to her, it was possible to compensate for the decline in income in applications due to payments in the web version: “After September, we also see a slight increase in revenue in the application due to the relocation of a part of the target audience.”

In 2022, the number of people who logged into VK Dating daily increased by 73% compared to the spring of 2022, the service said. The company does not disclose information about revenue, but they note that the service did not affect problems with payments: for additional options it is calculated through “votes” that can be purchased on the VKontakte social network. There is no separate application “VK Dating” for Android and iOS.

There has not been a serious outflow from Tinder, since the application is still in the App Store and Google Play for Russia, and premium services can be paid for if it is possible to top up an account in iTunes, as well as through promotional codes that are sold on marketplaces, the accelerator analyst clarified Fintech Lab Sergey Vilyanov: “One of the reasons for the interest in Tinder and Badoo has always been that there are more foreigners who are interested in Russian girls.”

Although the Russian audience is not very inclined to pay for dating, it is unlikely that the desire of Russians to save money this year will worsen the position of dating services, says Sergey Vilyanov: “On the contrary, in difficult times people begin to get closer.” This is not the segment where people save significantly, Denis Kuskov, CEO of Telecom Daily, agrees: “If the transition of the audience from foreign services has taken place, taking into account the solution of problems with payments in 2023, this will increase the financial performance of domestic services.”

Valeria Lebedeva