October 21, 2009
By the ZippyCart Shopping Carts Content Team
Consumers are still struggling a bit with the current recession, which has resulted in more people making purchases online at ecommerce sites. As money becomes tighter shoppers on a budget utilize the Internet because it is a great way to save money by comparison shopping from home and often these shoppers can save by not having to pay shipping or sales tax. Not all online businesses are surviving through the recession, but some business models continue to succeed. Online dating sites are a perfect example as people always want to look for love regardless of how poor they may be. Niche dating sites are a segment of the market that tends to perform very well because each person wants a specific type of relationship so they often search for that in Google. Below we provided you with a few examples of niche dating sites as well as generic dating sites to allow you to compare and contrast the different ecommerce services. Check them all out to see what makes them a success, and consider how each success can help improve your own online business.
Generic Dating Sites
Lavalife.com is a great site for anyone trying out online dating for the first time. They have a solid and trusted service where you can quickly find someone near you that matches all of your criteria and preferences. You do not have to rush though the site as Lavalife suggests you take your time so you find the right match. To better understand how their business model works, you can get 7 days for free to see how their online dating service works.
DatingDirect.com is the top online dating site in the UK and also has a strong presence across the rest of Europe. They pride themselves on having trendy and unique features that allow you to get matched up with great potential partners. One of the more popular features is a real-time one-to-one instant messaging chat tool to help users in their search for a soul-mate.
Match.com is a veteran in the online dating space, launching their website in 1995 in the US and now being offered in over 20 countries. The most unique thing about the company is that they allow you to find the potential partners via their niche dating sites as well as the generic site. Some of the niche sites with Match.com include options for Asians, African Americans, Jesuit, or Seniors.
Niche Dating Sites
AshleyMadison.com is a controversial new dating site that caters to people who are already in a relationship, but want to play the field and see who else is out there. They want to offer people a discreet and secure way to continue with their current relationship, while browsing for a new one. Even though the site has a woman’s name, the site is for men as well. The site began when the creator found too many married people on sites like Match.com searching for a single person to have an affair with. His solution was to create a site where married and taken people could congregate, so that single people in search of other singles would not be misled by meeting someone taken online. A great business typically has a few great tag lines and one of their best is Life is Short – have an Affair at AshleyMadison.com
SugarDaddy.com is exactly the type of site it sounds like as it allows people who want to be pampered and spoiled to connect with the people who want that type of relationship. Not only is the site for women looking for a Sugar Daddy, it is it also for someone who is looking for a Gay Sugar Daddy or Mama. This type of niche site is a great example of how a very targeted ecommerce model can succeed even in a recession.
CatholicMatch.com is a perfect example of a site who wants to help people of the same faith find each other. Religion is often a very critical part of any relationship which is why it makes sense for a site to cater to only one religion so it can have targeted users. Typically people of the same faith share very similar interests so the site helps facilitate the match making process so Catholics of all ages can find love. Browse the site and see how the niche dating focus gives them advantage for the Catholic dating audience.
Scott is an avid fan of all things ecommerce. His claim to fame is that he "puts the Zip in ZippyCart." He considers himself the world-wide number one reader of TechCrunch, C|Net, and The Ecommerce Times. Scott has worked in the SEO industry for many years, but found himself always shifting his focus to review sites and ecommerce blogs. When we decided to start the ZippyCart Ecommerce news, Scott was an obvious fit. He handles most of our OpEds as he is a very opinionated guy. Scott is also our Twitter guy, so don't hesitate to send him a tweet if you see him online.
