There are plenty of things folks cut back on during an economic downturn, and TV and newspaper reports are full of them: We eat at fancy restaurants less, buy fewer new cars, and hold back on spontaneous purchasing, to name just a few.
There's more cooking at home, more bargain-hunting and coupon-clipping, more vacations nearby.
But folks are also cutting back where one might not expect it, and one is in the search for love. Searchers of romance, it turns out, are skipping the bar scene and all the expense that entails in favor of going online to hunt out the next love of their lives.
A number of online dating services are reporting that their subscriber numbers have soared since September’s stock market turmoil hit.
“We have found that in the last three months, in September, October, November, that we have had a real jump in the numbers of people subscribing for membership,” says Jackie Elton, founder and managing director of Christian Connection, a London-based online dating service. It reports that its revenues in those months were up about 40 percent year on year.
Other online dating companies also have noted a rise. In the U.S., Perfectmatch.com also said in November that the number of members is up 47 percent compared to last quarter.
And Avalanche.com, which owns Date.com, Matchmaker.com and Amor.com, reports a similar trend, with revenue up 17 percent year on year and membership up 26 percent.
“It’s hard to know exactly why the numbers are going up, but yes, I feel that this surge is related to the recent worldwide economic crisis,” says Avalanche CEO Meir Strahlberg.
Hitwise, the online measurement firm, says the traffic for the online dating category was up in October compared to the same month the year before, although it puts the figure at a smaller 3 percent.
For the online dating industry, this is only the second economic downturn that has come around since these sites first appeared on the scene.
The first time, was after 9/11. The impact was similar then, too. “After 9/11 there was a tremendous surge in activity,” says Strahlberg.
With numbers shooting up during this downturn, folks at the online dating sites are beginning to think online dating is a countercyclical business, in other words one that manages to do well during an economic downturn.
“We feel that our business model is tested, and online dating is one of the few industries that is recession proof,” says Strahlberg.
So just why should this be? There are number reasons why online dating service bosses think the rotten economy might actually be boosting their business.
For one thing, people are likely to be economizing by staying home more. This leads to a few things. First, they may feel a bit lonely at home on their own.
What’s more, while at home there’s more time to surf online dating sites, looking at profiles. “The thing about online dating is that takes some effort. You have to get on there, make a good profile, see who’s on there. It isn’t a casual thing,” says Christian Connection’s Elton.
Then there’s the fact that if people are cutting back on spending, they won’t want to be splashing out in bars trying to meet someone.
Nor will they want to spend a lot on dates where there’s no chemistry. In fact, 48 percent of people polled recently by Avalanche said that the recent economic downturn meant they were sending more time online getting to know a prospective date before actually setting up a face-to-face date.
But there are a few other reasons too. When there is a time of crisis either relating to security or the economy, people tend to re-evaluate what is important in their lives. Suddenly material possessions don’t rate as high, while relationships and home life gain in importance.
What’s more, when things get tough, people don’t want to be alone. “There’s comfort in being in someone else’s company,” says Strahlberg.
***
Meanwhile, elsewhere in popcult, the new holiday movie “Four Christmases” opened at No. 1 at the box office over the weekend, bringing in $31.7 million. “Bolt” was No. 2 with $26.6 million in ticket sales.
In DVD rentals for the week ended Nov. 23, according to IMDb.com, “Tropic Thunder” debuted at No. 1, with fellow new release “WALL-E” at No. 2.
On iTunes this morning, “Single Ladies” by Beyonce was No. 1 for the second straight week, followed by “Just Dance” by Lady GaGa.
And in books, James Patterson’s “Cross Country” debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times’ hardcover fiction best-sellers list for the week ended Nov. 22 and at No. 5 on USA Today’s book chart for the week ended Nov. 16.
|
TOP MOVIES
Weekend Box Office Estimates
Weekend of Nov. 28-30, 2008
|
|
Rank
|
MOVIE
|
Engagements
|
Box office (millions)
|
|
1
|
Four Christmases (Warner Bros.)
|
3,310
|
$31.68
|
|
2
|
Bolt (
Buena Vista)
|
3,654
|
$26.60
|
|
3
|
Twilight (
Summit Entertainment)
|
3,425
|
$26.37
|
|
4
|
Quantum of Solace (Sony)
|
3,501
|
$19.50
|
|
5
|
Australia
(Fox)
|
2,642
|
$14.82
|
|
6
|
Madagascar
: Escape 2
Africa (DreamWorks)
|
3,709
|
$14.50
|
|
7
|
Transporter 3 (Lionsgate)
|
2,626
|
$12.33
|
|
8
|
Role Models (Universal)
|
2,195
|
$5.28
|
|
9
|
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (Miramax)
|
582
|
$1.69
|
|
10
|
Milk (Focus Features)
|
36
|
$1.38
|
|
Source: Yahoo Movies
|
|
IMDb TOP DVD RENTALS
Week ending Nov. 23, 2008
|
|
Rank
|
TITLE
|
Last week
|
|
1
|
Tropic Thunder
|
-
|
|
2
|
WALL-E
|
-
|
|
3
|
Kung Fu Panda
|
2
|
|
4
|
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
|
1
|
|
5
|
Get Smart
|
3
|
|
6
|
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
|
-
|
|
7
|
Journey to the Center of the Earth
|
4
|
|
8
|
The Incredible Hulk
|
5
|
|
9
|
This Christmas
|
6
|
|
10
|
Indiana
Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
|
7
|
|
Source: IMDB
|
|
ITUNES TOP 10 SONG DOWNLOADS
for week ended Monday, Dec. 1, 2008
|
|
Rank
|
TITLE
|
|
1
|
Single Ladies, Beyonce
|
|
2
|
Just Dance, Lady GaGa
|
|
3
|
Love Lockdown, Kanye West
|
|
4
|
You Found Me, The Fray
|
|
5
|
If I Were a Boy, Beyonce
|
|
6
|
Hot N Cold, Katy Perry
|
|
7
|
Love Story, Taylor Swift
|
|
8
|
Live Your Life, T.I. feat. Rihanna
|
|
9
|
Womanizer, Britney Spears
|
|
10
|
See You in My Nightmares, Kanye West
|
|
Source: iTunes
|
|
NEW YORK
TIMES BESTSELLING BOOKS
Week ending November 22, 2008
|
|
Fiction (hardback)
|
|
Rank
|
TITLE
|
Last week
|
Weeks on chart
|
|
1
|
Cross Country by James Patterson
|
-
|
1
|
|
2
|
The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck with Kevin Balfe and Jason Wright
|
1
|
2
|
|
3
|
The Private Patient by P.D. James
|
-
|
1
|
|
4
|
The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb
|
4
|
2
|
|
5
|
Divine Justice by David Baldacci
|
3
|
3
|
|
Nonfiction (hardback)
|
|
1
|
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
|
-
|
1
|
|
2
|
Too Fat to Fish by Artie Lange with Anthony Bozza
|
1
|
2
|
|
3
|
Dewey by Vicki Myron with Bret Wittner
|
3
|
10
|
|
4
|
American Lion by Jon Meacham
|
2
|
2
|
|
5
|
Do the Right Thing by Mike Huckabee
|
-
|
1
|
|
Fiction (paperback)
|
|
1
|
The Shack by William P. Young
|
1
|
27
|
|
2
|
The Appeal by John Grisham
|
-
|
1
|
|
3
|
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
|
2
|
23
|
|
4
|
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
|
-
|
63
|
|
5
|
World Without End by Ken Follett
|
3
|
7
|
|
Nonfiction (paperback)
|
|
1
|
The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
|
1
|
48
|
|
2
|
Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama
|
2
|
123
|
|
3
|
Marley & Me by John Grogan
|
4
|
37
|
|
4
|
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
|
5
|
95
|
|
5
|
Team of Rivals by Doris
Kearns Goodwin
|
-
|
17
|
|
Source: New York Times
|
|
USA
TODAY BESTSELLING BOOKS
Week ending November 23, 2008
|
|
Rank
|
TITLE
|
Last week
|
|
1
|
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
|
1
|
|
2
|
New Moon by Stephanie Meyer
|
2
|
|
3
|
Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer
|
3
|
|
4
|
Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
|
4
|
|
5
|
Cross Country by James Patterson
|
-
|
|
6
|
The Shack by William P. Young
|
5
|
|
7
|
The Appeal by John Girsham
|
-
|
|
8
|
The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck with Kevin Balfe and Jason Wright
|
6
|
|
9
|
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
|
-
|
|
10
|
The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
|
7
|
|
Source:
USA Today
|
