Match Group seeks to woo more singles in Asia to swipe on its apps

[SINGAPORE] Match Group, the dating app giant which owns popular platforms such as Tinder and Bumble, is eyeing Asia for new growth opportunities as it sees potential in its largely untapped pool of singles.

Compared with Western markets, the penetration rate for dating apps in Asia is “much lower” at just 7 per cent, said Malgosia Green, the group’s chief executive officer for Asia.

“(Asia) still has quite a ways to grow,” Green told The Business Times in a recent interview. Singles here are still gradually getting used to using dating apps as the mainstream way to find a partner.

Within the region, the company wants to target “high-intent” users – in other words, those who are actively seeking long-term, serious relationships, rather than casual dating or hook-ups.

Here, it has already seen promising results with Pairs – a Japan-based, marriage-matchmaking app. What sets Pairs apart from casual dating apps is the depth of information that users can reflect on their profile, said Green. Beyond the usual questions on age, gender and occupation, the platform allows singles to reflect their income level, blood type and even the number of siblings a user has – things one would want to know when finding a potential marriage partner.

In 2024, it launched a new feature called “real mind match”, allowing singles to pick and answer three important questions in relationships that might be hard to discuss. These answers do not show up on one’s public profile, but the app tells users if a potential match has the same answers.

Marriage-oriented dating

Pairs has become one of the leading dating apps in Japan, and sees “healthy” year-on-year growth, pointed out Green. In the third quarter ended Sep 30, 2024, Pairs reported a 9 per cent increase in user registrations, rebounding from a 1 per cent contraction in the previous quarter.

“There was a bit of a lull post-Covid coming in the Japanese market overall, but we’re really excited that we’re seeing positive growth again,” she added.

A reason for the app’s success in Japan is that Match Group recently got the rights to advertise the app on television. This has really normalised the idea of using a dating app in the country, she noted.

In March, the app expanded its footprint in a second market with its launch in South Korea.

Similar to Japan, South Korea has a big pool of singles looking for serious relationships; yet, there were no apps that catered to these individuals, said Green. Existing high-intent dating apps targeted niche demographics, and did not appeal to the broad market, she added.

Tinder has done very well in South Korea, but appeals to those seeking more casual dating experiences. “So we think that there is a real demand in the market for a high-intent marriage product, for people who may not necessarily feel comfortable in these (niche settings),” she explained.

Fluid connections

At the other end of the dating spectrum is Azar, a video chat app that is popular among Gen Zs, who make up 60 per cent of its user base. The app randomly connects users from all over the world for instant, one-on-one video conversations. “It’s not exactly a dating app, but there’s a lot of flirting and dating-like behaviour that happens on the app,” explained Green. It aligns with the desires of Gen Zs to have “more fluid, less-defined ways to interact and meet people”.

Azar was created by Korean digital technology company Hyperconnect, which Match Group acquired for USS$1.7 billion in 2021. The app gained popularity in the Middle East. Since Match Group acquired the business, it has been more active in pushing the app in Europe – with good results.

Since the end of 2024, the company has actively marketed the app in the United States. “We are seeing some very positive early signs of momentum there as well,” said Green.

As at September, Azar reported a total of 9.5 million monthly active users, up 14 per cent from the year before.

Its pool of paying customers also grew 29 per cent to 600,000.

Next potential market

For the full year ended December, revenue from Match Group Asia fell 6 per cent to US$285 million, from US$303 million previously. In contrast, total revenue for the entire group rose 3 per cent to US$3.5 billion in FY2024.

But Green eyes some avenues to spur growth in the region. For example, the group has its sights on India as a next potential market for Pairs. “There are a lot of matrimony players, but they tend to be sort of more traditional matchmakers, with a lot of brick-and-mortar type operations,” she said.

As for Azar, the plan is to focus on growing the user base in the current markets it is focused on: Europe, the US and the Middle East, in that order.

Another priority in the coming years is to bring its US-based apps, such as Hinge, to have a greater reach in Asia. “In almost all of our (Asia) markets, we only have Tinder. And given that the majority of the Asian dating market is high-intent… we have a big gap,” said Green.

Beyond its current offerings, Green is actively on the lookout for other strategic opportunities.

“Match Group has a history of being very acquisitive as well. Like with Hyperconnect or with Hinge, a lot of our big hits over the years have been acquiring different businesses, and that has not changed,” she said. “So yes, I am definitely actively looking at other businesses that we could potentially acquire that would fill out the portfolio that we have in Asia.”