> The intent of these apps is to keep you single and spending money.
You answered your own question.
A "good" dating app will get the user hitched. At that point the user ceases their interest in the app. How will the app maker make money off this person?
Asking for money up front is a no-go. The user has no guarantee that they will be successful in their endeavours.
Asking for money afterwards is tricky and difficult to enforce at scale.
The really good dating services out there aren't apps, they are more like matchmaking or concierge services. You pay someone a shit-ton of money and they give you access to a network of people that did the same thing, and have the same mindset as you. I'm also not sure how successful these services are, other than being good at extracting money from wealthy single desperates.
Tinder's secret sauce was normalising the DTF lifestyle on a massive scale, giving users an app where they can find their next sexual partner for the coming weekend. Much easier (and cheaper) than going to a bar/festival. Here the model is very much use the app on weekdays, match with a partner, have fun, and come back on Monday for more. Much easier to monetise this with subscriptions, super likes, profile boosts etc etc. The only critical feature they are missing (for obvious reasons) is allowing users to rate one another. This naturally does not work so well for the crowd looking for more long term situations.
I think it really boils down to a fundamental mismatch on incentives. As a service, you want recurring revenue. As a user, you want to stop using this service as fast as possible. The two are not compatible with one another.
What if the app is like Tinder meets Groupon? Match you on date then give you discounts on places to take your date? Business model then shifts from keeping you single to getting you on dates because the money is in consumers spending time out at restaurants and events.
You answered your own question.
A "good" dating app will get the user hitched. At that point the user ceases their interest in the app. How will the app maker make money off this person?
Asking for money up front is a no-go. The user has no guarantee that they will be successful in their endeavours.
Asking for money afterwards is tricky and difficult to enforce at scale.
The really good dating services out there aren't apps, they are more like matchmaking or concierge services. You pay someone a shit-ton of money and they give you access to a network of people that did the same thing, and have the same mindset as you. I'm also not sure how successful these services are, other than being good at extracting money from wealthy single desperates.
Tinder's secret sauce was normalising the DTF lifestyle on a massive scale, giving users an app where they can find their next sexual partner for the coming weekend. Much easier (and cheaper) than going to a bar/festival. Here the model is very much use the app on weekdays, match with a partner, have fun, and come back on Monday for more. Much easier to monetise this with subscriptions, super likes, profile boosts etc etc. The only critical feature they are missing (for obvious reasons) is allowing users to rate one another. This naturally does not work so well for the crowd looking for more long term situations.
I think it really boils down to a fundamental mismatch on incentives. As a service, you want recurring revenue. As a user, you want to stop using this service as fast as possible. The two are not compatible with one another.