UK Dating Market Has Never Been Healthier - Despite Economic Climate

The UK dating market has never been healthier – despite (or perhaps because of) a tough economic climate, Britain’s singles remain optimistic, upbeat and active in their search for love. match’s websites average in excess of 2.5 million1 site visitors each month.  

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The findings of the LoveGeist Report indicate a strong desire among the UK’s dating community to find and nurture long-term love. Some of the key findings include: 93% of daters are looking for a long-term relationship – rising to 97% among the 18-30s. Love is clearly an aspiration for the vast majority, particularly for those just starting out on the road to a long-term relationship.

Despite the plethora of negative news coverage about the state of marriage in Great Britain today, only 13% of daters say they actively don’t want to get married in the future – and once again, younger daters are most positive about matrimony, with nearly 80% of singles within the 18-36 age group expressing a desire to get married in future. Match.com - Everyone knows someone who met on Match.com. Now it’s your turn. Search Now!

Interestingly, having children together (37%) is seen as a bigger symbol of commitment than marriage (33%) for the UK’s daters. We would argue that this is in many ways reflective of a new era, with more options and choice for long-term relationship formats open to singles today. We will investigate this in more detail within the report.

The LoveGeist Report has uncovered a new breed of dater – Pragmantics (or pragmatic romantics) – 25-40 year old singles who tread a delicate balancing act between the realities of everyday life and the desires and aspirations of finding true love.

Love ranks a healthy third in a list of nine life priorities, beating friends, social life, career and personal ambition, and just after family and health (first and second priorities respectively)

When it comes to what daters are looking for in a long-term partner, we see a strong desire for security and safety, with “someone I feel secure with” ranking most important, above sexual compatibility and shared values. We will explore later in the report the impact the recession has had on daters’ emotional responses
Via the innovative Romance Barometer, we have identified a core of older daters – singles aged 55+ who are upholding the traditions of romance and exploring opportunities for a new relationship. Do these Old Romantics have a thing or two to teach the younger generation about good, old-fashioned wooing? Match.com - Everyone knows someone who met on Match.com. Now it’s your turn. Search Now!

Two thirds of single parents say they struggle to meet new people in their everyday lives, and nearly half say bad experiences in love have made them wary of looking for a new relationship – indicative of a growing “parent trap”.