Marry5.com, a leading online dating website in China, announced that its monthly revenues have reached US$300,000, with the Company expecting to see things continue to improve thanks to the launch of their supermarket-style online checkouts.
In the Web 2.0 era, network segmentation further drives the online dating market, and the online friends-making model is becoming increasingly popular. In 2006, a group of professional online dating websites emerged in China, attracting a great deal of interest from venture capital firms. As early as December 2005, Shenzhen Haotian's pengpeng.com and Marry5.com received US$12.5 million from Softbank Asia; then in early 2006, YeeYoo.com secured an investment of US$20 million from Meetic, one of the largest dating websites in Europe; and baihe.com raised a total of US$11 million in two rounds of investment from investors such as NEA, a world-famous venture capital firm. Other websites including love21cn.com and 96333.com have also benefited from venture capitalists.
However, after the initial investment fever, dating websites have had to face the reality of their operating problems directly, some of which even declaring no chance of the possibility of making a profit, having seen all their investments used up. Under such circumstances, Marry5.com first announced that it has addressed its profitability thanks to a steady revenue growth. Marry5.com jumped to one of the top 900 among global websites in early 2007, and had an ALEXA industry ranking of 1 in December 2006.
In China, netizens have become accustomed to free internet services, and the majority of dating websites now still attract users by adopting a free membership strategy. By contrast, similar foreign websites charge membership fees as a primary approach to profitability. For example, Match.com generates US$260 million in revenues a year from membership fees alone.
Another website, eHarmony has 7 million registered users, 20% of whom are paid users, with each paying US$49.95 a month. Successful foreign cases provide some enlightenment to Chinese websites. Under profitability pressure, some websites have launched very expensive service packages for their members. This, however, results in an awkward situation: money comes while popularity drops.
70% of netizens are willing to pay to make friends online, among whom, 29.5% are willing to spend under RMB10 (US$1.3), 18.8% to spend RMB10-30 (US$1.3-3.8), 11.1% to spend RMB30-50 (US$3.8-6.4), 7.7% to spend RMB50-100 (US$6.4-12.8), and even 2.3% to spend over RMB100. ''Facing such diversified consumer habits and affordability, it is obviously difficult for uniform and very expensive charges service packages to survive. Undoubtedly, this practice sets a threshold and accordingly keep a large number of potential consumers out, creating a bottleneck for the development of the websites themselves.
Now, Marry5.com offers diversified paid products with charges ranging from RMB2 to RMB260 (US$0.25-US$33), including such basic functions as music, star member profile, wireless services and personal love consultations, as well as professional dating products and various offline activities.
From the humble beginnings of offering simple offline activities and wireless products to the full-blooded array of offerings today, Marry5.com has witnessed increased revenues after only one year. Driven by its groundbreaking offline activity, ''looking for love in the same office building,'' paid activities have been accepted, and even welcomed, by many users. The website has produced revenues since September 2006, reaching almost US$130,000 per month by December 2006. In 2007, the newly launched ''True Love'' series and love consultation services have seen over 10,000 purchases, boosting revenues. This new influx of revenues has helped the site see its monthly revenues reach US$300,000. The website has even forecast that it will not only become No.1 in the industry in 2007, but would also be making a profit by the end of the year, positioning itself in anticipation of its IPO in 2008.
Currently, online dating services have a strong momentum throughout the world, and although it is still in the development stage in China, the market is expected to far outstrip Europe in the future. Statistics from iResearch said that China's online dating market is growing at an annual rate of 60%, and is expected to reach nearly US$84 million by 2008. Marry5.com has benefited from such a huge market and is more confident of occupying a larger share of the attractive market.
Source:佚名