South Korea—the poster baby for East Asia’s drop in marriages and childbirth—looks like a wierd goal marketplace for Match Group, operator of courting platforms like Tinder Hinge.
“Korea has an acute challenge” with regards to long-term relationships, with a “pretty shocking” 40% decline in marriages over a 10-year-period, notes Malgosia Inexperienced, Asia CEO for Match.
Match Group just lately launched a made-for-Korea model of its Pairs app, which targets these looking for extra severe relationships or marriage, in distinction to extra informal apps like Tinder and Hinge. (Match additionally presents Tinder in South Korea)
Inexperienced thinks that Pairs may very well be a very good match for South Korea, given the app’s success in neighboring Japan, one other nation with a declining inhabitants.
Extrapolating from authorities knowledge, she means that one in ten marriages in Japan occur resulting from Pairs. “Twenty-five percent of marriages in Japan happen through dating apps. We can deduce our share of that because Pairs is the leader in Japan,” she explains.
Match has tailor-made Pairs to East Asian markets. The app asks customers robust questions like “how often do you want to meet your mother-in-law” or “do you want kids”: awkward in any date setting, however maybe notably in East Asia, the place folks are typically extra circumspect.
Pairs doesn’t publicly floor these solutions, however the app does attempt to match individuals who align on these “real mind match” questions.
“This is our go-to-market feature for the Korean market,” Inexperienced says.
Asia’s demographic change
Regardless of a gentle uptick in births and marriages final 12 months, South Korea’s demographic scenario stays essentially the most excessive amongst East Asian societies adopted by Japan, and others like Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Mainland China.
South Korea reported 222,400 marriages in 2024, down from 322,807 in 2013. Fertility charges fell over the identical interval, falling to 0.75 youngsters born per lady in 2024, down from 1.19 youngsters in 2013.
The place’s Match going subsequent in Asia?
Match reported $3.5 billion in income for 2024, a 3% improve. But Asia income declined by 6% over the identical interval to succeed in $284 million. International paying customers additionally declined 5% year-on-year to succeed in 14.9 million customers.
The corporate just lately introduced in Zillow co-founder Spencer Rascoff to be its CEO in February because it tries to draw extra customers.
Nonetheless, Inexperienced thinks Asia-Pacific presents new alternatives for Match, 2024 income dip within the area apart, paying customers in Asia elevated 9% year-on-year to succeed in a million customers.
Japan and South Korea not solely attempt to give financial incentives to encourage folks to have youngsters, however actively tries to get folks to fulfill by way of occasions like government-organized speed-dating. Inexperienced says that Match is already partnering with prefecture governments in Japan.
Whereas Match is now targeted on South Korea, Inexperienced is trying to India as the corporate’s subsequent goal in Asia.
Regardless of a protracted historical past with organized marriage, Inexperienced says that at the moment’s Indian dad and mom are hoping to offer their youngsters extra company. Marriages for love are extra accepted at the moment in comparison with 5 years in the past, Inexperienced says citing survey knowledge.
“We see an opportunity there for a high-intent marriage oriented app,” Inexperienced says. “There’s no one playing that space at scale.”
This story was initially featured on Fortune.com
