What’s Captifying the World? Singles ready to mingle—personal care sees a surge in search interest as In-person Daters groom for a comeback

Social distancing and lockdowns over the past 12 months accelerated the growth of online dating for those looking for love—Tinder broke 3 billion swipes in a single day for the first time in March 2020, video calls on Bumble increased by 70% and OkCupid profiles increased 2200% between Feb ‘20 and Feb ‘21. 

One year on, with spring in the air and lockdowns easing, a new wave of daters have emerged and are ready to move offline and into the physical world.

A refreshing return 

Captify analyzed billions of searches comparing February ‘20 and ‘21 to uncover an emerging audience of In-person Daters who are preparing to re-introduce themselves to the in-person dating world. 

Data revealed a 160% YoY search increase in overall personal care interest, as well as significant search increases around these personal care areas specifically: 

• In-person barber visits: 1690% 
• At-home exercise: 1677%
• Salon appointments: 1217%
• At-home beauty: 208%
• Gym memberships: 150%

These new In-person Daters are in the mindset to get back into the physical dating scene, looking at trips to the barber, the salon and working out to look and feel their best. 

They are also in the market for date ideas for those big nights out and fun in-person activities—searches for dinner reservations have seen a 2779% increase YoY, while searches for sporadic moments such as Date Night and Live Shows are indexing higher than average, 27X and 18X respectively.

New dating priorities

Captify dived deeper into the connected interests of the In-person Daters and identified specific interests reflecting what they are looking for. 

This emerging audience is searching for: 

• Yoga: 13.1X more than average—daters have adopted a new focus on mindfulness and wellness during lockdown and are seeking someone who shares that passion
• Religion: 9.1X more than average—feeling more spiritual after a year of hardship, daters are looking for a partner who can share that deeper connection
• Charity: 7.5X more than average—inspired to support a cause and help others, daters want to connect with someone who is compassionate and shares the same appreciation for charitable giving.

Identifying emerging audiences through search

Fresh and dynamic data allows brands to monitor how motivations and mindsets are shifting, enabling them to capture live intent as consumers enter the next phase of the pandemic. Brands can utilize these insights to identify new and emerging audiences that did not previously exist but who are now in-market, ensuring they are reaching the most relevant audiences in real-time moments of consideration and intent.

Get in touch to request a demo of Sense, Captify’s new Search Intent Platform designed for brands to discover critical consumer behaviors and insights, pinpoint the intent and size of audiences and seamlessly activate programmatically across all channels—all powered by real-time intent.

*Data sourced from Captify’s global network from 02/01/20-02/29/20 and 02/01/21-02/28/20