India's matchmaking portals spreading wings

India's virtual matchmaking portals are entering what some surfers consider allied services.

First matchmakers jumped from reality into the virtual world, and we got Shaadi.com, Bharatmatrimony.com and others. Now, People Interactive India's matchmaking website, Shaadi.com, has hopped to yet another domain.

Mid-January saw People Interactive launch Astrolife.com - the group's occult interest venture. The website offers an array of services like astrology, numerology, vaastu shastra, tarot card readings, Fengshui and so on.

Astrolife.com was a result of People Interactive's inhouse research that revealed that about 250,000 non-resident Indians have been actively shopping for astrological services online.

If each of them spends about Rs 10,000 every year on such services, that totals to about Rs 250 crore (Rs 2.5 billion) every year, contends Raj Rao, business head, astrology, People Interactive India.

Another study revealed that 150 experts offer online occult services to Indians and NRIs. Whereas, India has about 500,000 practicing astrologers. Astrolife.com intends to give them a platform and exploit the traffic potential.

The website intends to recruit about 500 astrologers. And the criteria for recruitment will be formal education in the field, from renowned institutes like the 40-year-old, Delhi-based, Indian Council of Astrological Sciences. Others would include the decade-old International Vaastu Association, based in Jodhpur, International Vaastu Academy, based in Jaipur, and so on.

Astrolife is a mix of free and paid services. Membership is free and members get free horoscopes, tarot card readings and numerologist predictions. Consultations hover around Rs 500-Rs 1,500 per issue.

That depends on the expert's rate card. Which could be pretty steep. But then, access to the predictory power of stars and other heavenly bodies can't be cheap.

"Indian astrologers charge upto Rs 5,000 for the same issue," defends Rao. Users even get private one-to-one consultations with experts of their choice. Consultations happen on private forums, that aren't bound by time zones. All they've to do is fill up the consultation applications.

Profiles of the experts are posted on the site, customers can choose accordingly. In fact, customers are encouraged to grade the services of experts on two criteria - timeliness of response and usefulness of response.

From a domestic market perspective, this is an entirely logical move. After all, astrological consultations remain an integral part of traditional Indian weddings, as most are. Shaadi.com claims outright leadership of the online matches market.

The website has seven million members, 30 per cent of them NRIs. With astrological services, the company hopes to enhance the appeal of the entire package. "Astrolife.com is the only website offering all occult services together," says Vibhas Mehta, business head, Shaadi.com.

Astrolife services could also boost Shaadi.com's offline business ventures, particularly its network of Shaadi points, of which there are 85 already.

While Shaadi.com may offer Astrolife instant access to people with astrology on their minds, the venture could face competition from pure astrology plays such as Astroyogi.com, Cyberastro.com and so on (the market, estimated at Rs 400 crore, has new players emerging every other day).

But the country's most famous astrologer, Bejan Daruwalla, thankfully, would not be in direct competition. His popular website, Ganeshaspeaks.com, has had a tie-up with Shaadi.com for the past two years.

Astrolife says it wants to work collaboratively with him, as with all other such online services, to expand the business potential. Plus, it hopes to rope in popular international biggies like the French expert, Marjorie Orr.