Fascinating coverages across a few newspapers on this topic. Truly recession-proof businesses are hard to come by - and the bright spots this time are wedding services and dating websites.
Dating website usage has been up since our economy grinds to a halt last year. In the West, 25% more women are saying the economic stress has made them more inclined to look for a long-term partner. Japan's dating site O-Net has seen subscription up 10% from last year. Elsewhere, eHarmony.com, an online dating site, noted that website visit was higher than average on days when the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by more than 100 points. Number of onsite instant messages sent on OkCupid.com was up 3x. The cited reason is "going through difficult times with someone special is better than doing it alone".
Beyond just dating, Japanese women seem intend on end-result. As work is becoming less rewarding (or more difficult to come by in tough times), Japanese women, called "marriage hunters" by the local press, decided that looking for a husband is a better bet than landing a job. Marriages in Japan surged to a five-year high of 731,000 in 2008. Women (maybe unfairly the press only highlighted women) who still get paid 43% less than men in Japan, are looking for a second income to fall back on. This is a reversal of trend, where women has been putting careers over families after Japan implemented equal labor rights 23 years ago. A marriage-hunting bar in Roppongi has seen membership up 26% this year. Men pay roughly $100 per visit to have waiters set them up with women, who get in free. The bar is booked solid on weekends. Its not just women that are paying attention, investors are too. Share price of Watanabe Wedding, a wedding planner company, rose 55% since Sept 2008, when the Tokyo index was down by 30%. To serve a growing market, women's magazines are getting on the bandwagon to offer dating/marriage advice too. In Japan's leading women magazine An-An, inside the "complete guide to marriage hunting", it says "looks shouldn't matter because they are not essential to leading a married life. You need to consider men you normally wouldn't date."
Beyond the traditional dating sites, I found AshleyMadison.com fascinating - instead of arranging dates or marriages, the $49/mth subscription-based site arranges extra-marital affairs. Usage was up as well, since "majority of relationship discord stems from economic troubles". So, more "demand" for affairs too, not just marriage.
Maybe the wedding planner and affair arranging website can partner to offer a one-stop shop service - in the fast-pace cycle of relationships today.
1 comment:
very interesting! they should have those marriage hunting magazines in HK too!
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