These smaller platforms, Sharabi says, can provide a more “boutique” experience that can be more appealing than brick-and-mortar apps because they know and understand their user base better.
This has proven to be especially true for apps designed for queer, non-monogamous, or kink-oriented dating, such as Grindr and Feeld. Grindr reported 33 percent revenue growth last year, and Feeld’s user base increased in 2023 as well. There are apps focused on religion, fitness and even rural users, as well as Kippo, which also seeks to connect video game lovers.
Meanwhile, Match Group, which owns Tinder, Hinge and other dating apps, saw mixed results for its apps. Along with Bumble, which offended many with a disastrous ad campaign earlier this year (the company apologized), the big apps have lost $40 billion in market value since 2021. this way. Bumble reported 10 percent year-over-year revenue growth and also updated its app, while Tinder grew 1 percent in revenue and Hinge nearly 50 percent year-over-year, according to Match. But if Hinge, Bumble, and Tinder are the crowded, loud singles bars for online dating, these smaller apps are the quieter coffee shop or running club. There may be fewer people, but they are more likely to start from a place where singles have something in common.
Goblin dating the model could provide a new approach that appeals to more solitary people, says Jess Carbino, a former in-house pollster for Bumble and Tinder. “It can be an amazing resource for people who are more shy or reticent to meet in person,” she says. She also wonders if the low-activity aspect of dating in the game might facilitate comfortable in-and-out interactions and cause people to delay meeting in person.
Keeney notes that early beta users of Date Like Goblins included people who are neurodivergent, immunocompromised, or introverted, all of whom may feel more comfortable getting to know someone doing an activity rather than sitting down face-to-face for a drink or coffee. She created the app, she says, partly in response to the frustration she felt with traditional apps that her person might be hidden behind a paywall or hidden by an algorithm that couldn’t spot what would connect them. People can choose to try to meet singles closer to their physical location or find people around the world, she says.
