Dating apps financial analyst

There may be plenty of fish in the sea, but there's also plenty of phishers. In today's digitally-driven culture, many people find their future spouse by dating online — and there are even financial advantages to doing so — but there are also major risks.

Online dating has grown from nothing just 24 years ago to becoming a global, multi-billion dollar industry. According to The Motley Fool, the U.S. market is worth $2.2 billion in annual revenue and is growing at 5 percent per year. In contrast, China was forecast to be worth $1.6 billion in revenue at the end of 2018 as Chinese consumers increasingly use the Tinder app.

According to a study from the University of Vienna, online dating is now the second most popular way of meeting a future spouse for heterosexual couples, right after being introduced by a friend. For same-sex couples, it is the No. 1 method for finding a spouse, accounting for almost 70 percent of couples.

Match.com is the largest player in online dating industry with a 25 percent market share position, more than double the No. 2 competitor, eHarmony, which has a 12 percent share according to The Motley Fool. Launched in 1995 and based in Dallas, Match.com operates in 25 countries and has multiple brands including OkCupid, Chemistry.com, Tinder and PlentyOfFish.