Madina Khatoon, a Dubai-based doctor from India, is undertaking a serious operation: slicing through hundreds of online matrimonial profiles to locate and extract Mr Right.
She registered three months ago on a matrimony website looking for a potential spouse, encouraged by the success stories of three patients who found their partners online. Khatoon is one of 20 million global users on the popular matrimony website Shaadi.com who are driving massive demand for online matchmaking services.
India-based matrimonial websites are eagerly wooing the Gulf with its untapped market of non-resident Indians (NRIs), according to regional website managers and online research companies.
"There's potential for growth, especially in the Gulf. Gradually websites are realising that the Gulf has a big South Indian population, it's closer to India and non-resident Indians are far more connected to India," said Sanjay Tiwari, Director and CEO of Juxt Consult, an Indian online research company.
Shadi.com's GCC market grew by 12.5 per cent in terms of registered users in 2009-2010 compared to 7.5 per cent in 2008. Revenue grew 27 per cent in 2009-2010 compared to 18 per cent in 2008.
The companies have taken the traditional custom of matchmaking, popular in India and many Arab countries, and introduced it to the comparatively new platform of the internet. The two hit it off. Deloitte has named matrimonial sites Bharatmatrimony.com and Shaadi.com among the fastest growing 50 technology companies in India. The online matrimony market is expected to be worth $63 million (Dh231.7 million) in 2010-2011, according to Indian online research company Juxt Consult.
Traditionally, professional matchmakers visited the homes of young men and women on the lookout for a spouse and displayed photos of a stock of potential soulmates for them to take their pick. Sometimes, a meddling aunt or uncle or an anxious parent scoured print classifieds for matrimonial ads.
But like much else, the custom of matchmaking has made the move online. Vinesh Nair, regional representative of Shaadi.com, insists there is a business case for this venture. "The model is untouchable for a long time to come," he noted. "There will always be the need to get married across religions, castes, communities and growing populations."
Growth of internet usage
The growth of internet usage in the UAE has reached 400 per cent over the past four years, which means more people are online, Nair said. Marriage decision-making is no longer controlled solely by parents, relatives or matchmakers, he added.
"It's become a progressive society, people want to know more about their potential spouse before getting into an awkward conversation," he said. Women are developing a more progressive outlook on arranged marriages, choosing to understand their partner first, and the internet gives them the opportunity to sift through potential spouses before discussing it with "facilitators" like parents, he said.
The internet is an ideal medium to connect NRIs all over the world with each other globally and in India, he explained.
Globalisation of the economy, urbanisation, the increased influence of Western culture, increased mobility and the decline in influence of extended or joint family ties make it more difficult for families to find suitable spouses for their children; so matrimonial websites are becoming attractive alternatives, said Dr Rakesh Gupta, a professor at the Institute for Integrated Learning Management (IILM) in India, who wrote a paper on matrimony websites in 2010.
Even traditional matchmakers are logged onto their website as users and provide the information for people who have no internet access, Nair said. The shift from traditional to online matchmaking took time as people adjusted to the idea.
In the past two years the growth rate of matrimony websites has slowed down in terms of visitors, according to Tiwari. Only 5-7 per cent of the Indian population has internet access and only 10 per cent can understand the English language websites. This slowdown in India has led to penetration and expansion in the GCC, he said.
NRIs in the Gulf are a large population and have close ties to India as they travel and transfer money there frequently, he added. Both companies opened representative offices in the UAE almost five years ago.
"There's a much better market in the Gulf than in Western countries. But they are not tapped into the Gulf as much as they should," Tiwari said.
The GCC is the largest expat market for Shaadi.com after US and UK and contributes to one-fifth of their global market, Nair said. About 20 per cent of their registered users from the Middle East are facilitators — parents, relatives or friends of the potential bride or groom.
Internet penetration in the Middle East has reached 28.3 per cent. "This key driver to growth makes the GCC a strategic growth-market for us," said Pamit Anand, Manager of Shaadi.com's Middle East and Europe market.
The young population aged 21-35 makes up about 40 per cent of the GCC population and is another key market driver, Nair said.
The "typical" user from the GCC is a 24-year-old male, upwardly mobile, "deeply rooted" in tradition but is "progressive" in thinking and is serious about marriage, Nair said. Reflecting the gender internet penetration ration, about 56 per cent of users are male.
Online matrimony is expected to grow at an annual rate of 50 to 70 per cent according to a report by Juxt Consult. Paid memberships have increased by 23 per cent between 2009 and 2010 and users have reported 1.4 million success stories, Nair said.
Venture capitalists have already seen potential and are rushing to tie the knot with the websites, sealing the deal with bundles of cash. Sequoia Capital India has invested $8 million in Shaadi.com. Yahoo and Cannan Partners invested $8.65 million in Bharatmatrimony in 2006.
Making great profits
"The websites are not making great profits now, but venture capitalists are very optimistic and gung-ho about this sector. They see a much, much stronger long-term potential. If they are not making money today, they are confident they'll make money tomorrow," said Gupta, explaining that the profits are re-invested into the business. Most matrimony websites operate primarily under a revenue model depending less on advertisements, he said.
For Shaadi.com, 80 per cent of revenue comes from paid subscription and only 10-12 per cent from ads, Nair said. Online ads often feature jewellery shops, wedding planners, home rentals, and car loans that are relevant to the target audience, he said.
Many users who conclude their marriage also donate cash or gifts to the website, which makes up a small part of their revenue, Gupta said.
But like many marriages, matrimonial websites have their ups and downs. "It's a dotcom service and getting married is an offline game," Nair said. Some of the main issues they face are breaking language barriers to reach more audiences, privacy concerns, keeping the website secure, and keeping up with technology, he said.
They are also working on customising the website to suit the varied needs of Indians around the world: A second generation Indian in Australia will have different needs and cultural perspectives than a third-generation Indian in South Africa, he said.
Some users are also hesitant to make payments online using their credit card. Shaadi.com has partnered with local partners like UAE Exchange to resolve this problem and facilitate easier payments, Nair said.
Many online matrimony companies are scrambling to open physical offices in India to capture offline audiences and compete with traditional matchmakers, Gupta said. "All the major players in India did the opposite of usual companies: they started online first, then found that at a certain stage the growth rate slowed down so they had to expand into physical space through offline offices," he said.
Optimistic
Still, observers are optimistic about the future of these ventures.
"The potential to make money is huge," said Gupta, pointing to the 300 million people estimated to be getting married in the next 30 years in India alone.
With websites claiming a million successful marriages so far, Khatoon is optimistic about her chances.
"This is the shortest way to get a better person without other people knowing about it and coming to your house and you embarassing yourself... There's a lot of pressure the traditional way. This is silent and its the best way as I see it."
