It's text before marriage in Europe
comScore, Inc, a leader in measuring the digital world, has released data from its comScore MobiLens service showing that young adult males factor prominently in the increase in Europeans accessing dating sites on their mobile phones. Of the nearly 11 million users accessing mobile dating services each month, 22% are males between the ages of 25-34 years old, compared to just 8.7% of females in the same age group. The June 2010 data from comScore shows that across Europe there has been a 52% increase in mobile access to dating sites since June 2009.
Italians are top mobile daters
Italians are the most active in looking for love on their mobile devices, with 7.1% (3.3 million) of users accessing dating services each month. The Spanish come in second with 6.1% (2.1 million) of users, followed by Germans with 3.9% (2.1 million users) and the French with 3.6% (1.7 million users). The UK ranks fifth with just 3.5% (1.7 million users) engaging with dating services via mobile.
| Dating Site Access via Mobile Phone by European Country 3 Month Avg. Ending June 2010 Total EU5 (UK, DE, FR, ES and IT), Age 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens | ||
|---|---|---|
| Unique Visitors (000) | Reach (%) | |
| EU5 | 10,968 | 4.8% |
| Italy | 3,347 | 7.1% |
| Spain | 2,124 | 6.1% |
| Germany | 2,093 | 3.9% |
| France | 1,693 | 3.6% |
| United Kingdom | 1,711 | 3.5% |
Text before marriage
SMS is the most popular method of accessing mobile dating sites with 5.6 million users in June, ranking just above access via browser with 5.4 million users. Usage of apps for mobile dating is on the rise with 1.8 million mobile users in June, up 71% in the past year to outpace dating site access via SMS and browser.
| Dating Sites by Access Method 3 Month Avg. Ending June 2010 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending June 2009 Total EU5 (UK, DE, FR, ES and IT), Age 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile Subscribers Who Accessed Dating Sites on Mobile Phone (000) | |||
| Jun-2009 | Jun-2010 | % Change | |
| Accessed Dating Service Ever in Month | 7,201 | 10,968 | 52% |
| Accessed Dating Service via SMS | 3,724 | 5,614 | 51% |
| Accessed Dating Service via Browser | 3,660 | 5,375 | 47% |
| Accessed Dating Service via App | 1,078 | 1,846 | 71% |
"Many Europeans have turned to their phones to help find love this summer," says comScore European VP Mobile, Jeremy Copp. "What's surprising is how heavily skewed the sites' audiences are to younger males, which creates a challenge for the category to attract more females and increase the possibility of a positive match."
He added: "Combined with the prevalence of the SMS as a tool for engaging with dating services and the relative small usage of mobile dating apps, these data illustrate the importance in knowing who your audience is and how they use your services."
June 2010 European mobile benchmark data
Below is comScore's June 2010 benchmark data, including a review of mobile consumption behaviours and device penetration for five EU countries. This benchmark data is published by comScore on a monthly basis to provide the most up-to-date snapshot of the mobile industry. Further information on this benchmark data, and other data included above, can be provided upon request.
| Mobile Benchmark Data for the European Market 3 Month Average Ending June 2010 Total EU5 (UK, DE, FR, ES and IT), Age 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reach (%) of Mobile Subscribers | ||||||
| EU5 | UK | France | Germany | Italy | Spain | |
| Sent Text Message to Another Phone | 82.9% | 90.6% | 80.5% | 81.3% | 79.6% | 82.3% |
| Used Application (Including Native Games) | 35.8% | 41.5% | 26.0% | 34.9% | 39.2% | 37.7% |
| Used Browser | 25.9% | 36.7% | 24.3% | 20.4% | 23.7% | 24.1% |
| Listened to Music on Mobile Phone | 24.5% | 23.1% | 21.3% | 26.3% | 22.5% | 31.1% |
| Accessed Social Networking Site or Blog | 14.9% | 23.8% | 13.3% | 8.9% | 15.1% | 13.4% |
| Accessed News | 29.7% | 36.5% | 27.3% | 23.0% | 33.8% | 28.3% |
| Smartphone | 25.7% | 28.0% | 17.9% | 19.5% | 33.6% | 31.6% |
| 3G Subscribers | 44.8% | 44.5% | 39.6% | 41.5% | 45.7% | 56.1% |