Over 30 per cent of men prefer matchmaking websites as an exclusive medium for finding their soulmate as against 20 per cent women.
These are the findings of a research study on online matrimonial sites conducted by the Internet and Online Association (IOA).
The study revealed that while 33 per cent of men logged on to matrimonial websites out of curiosity, 37 per cent of men considered it as a supplementary medium.
Online matrimonial classifieds are the biggest paid content generators on the Net which has earned over Rs 20 crore (Rs 200 million) in 2004.
They have attracted over 40 lakh (Rs 4 million) subscribers from home and work up to October 2004 compared with 22.5 lakh (Rs 2.24 million) subscribers in 2003.
This means online matrimony has grown a whopping 77 per cent in one year.
Said Preeti Desai, president of IOA, in a release, "The success can be easily explained by its unique functionality that it starts as a free service and individuals and families have to pay only when they are convinced. Increased demand will also lead to increased competition, thus empowering the Indian consumer with cost-effective services attached with advanced technological tools."
According to Desai, online matrimonial classifieds are a viable business option that newspapers cannot afford to ignore.
Leading national dailies such as The Times of India, The Indian Express and The Hindustan Times have tied up with matrimonial websites to feature matrimonial classifieds.
Matrimonial websites such as Shaadi.com, Bharatmatrimony.com, Swayamvara.com or even Rediff Matchmaker have a mix of both free and paid subscriptions which vary between Rs 450-900 as basic fee.
The web interface allows users to create their profiles but in order to contact someone, one needs to pay.
This mixed business model has not affected the popularity of these medium at all. With India now having adopted the Internet as one of the fastest growing social network on the web, the IOA expects the market to reach over Rs 80 crore (Rs 800 million) by 2007.
