Did you find yourself alone under the mistletoe this holiday season? You’re in luck, because this Sunday is apparently the best time to find a date online.
Sunday is usually a busier day on dating apps than Friday or Saturday, per Fortune, when people are more likely going on dates than looking for them. But the first Sunday of the new year, AKA “Dating Sunday,” is the biggest day of all.
- On Tinder, messages and likes shoot up 22% and 18.2%, respectively. People also respond 19.4 minutes faster, on average, than on any other Sunday.
- In 2022, Coffee Meets Bagel enjoyed a 47% rise in sign-ups on Dating Sunday compared to the previous 30 days.
- OkCupid sees a 70% pop in user activity.
The term dates back to 2016 and has been referred to as the “Super Bowl” of online dating by Match Group’s chief dating expert Rachel DeAlto.
Why?
People tend to spend the holidays wrapped up with family and friends — then, a kissless New Year’s countdown reminds them of how single they are. Plus, many people make being more social or finding a partner a New Year’s resolution.
All this increased activity continues for six weeks until Valentine’s Day, at which point swiping season slows.
This is good…
… for dating apps, if not the singles.
Though most dating apps are free, many have started charging users for features like: seeing who’s “liked” them, fine-tuning their search filters, or having their profile seen by more users.
Despite this, Match — owner of Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, and Plenty of Fish — reported Q4 revenue predictions south of analyst expectations, as consumers pull back on discretionary spending.
Perhaps Dating Sunday will reverse that trend — at least until we all give up while eating our heart-shaped pizzas alone on Valentine’s Day.
