Why Tinder Is Rebuilding Its Dating App Experience For Gen Z

Forbes

3 days ago

In this photo illustration, the Tinder logo is seen on a smartphone and PC screen. (Photo ... More Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
For online dating, it once seemed that nothing could quite match the Tinder dating app experience.
The app, owned by Match Group, 'revolutionized online dating for millennials.' Known as the place to go for hookups, Tinder popularized the legendary 'swipe' to express interest, or not.
Now, the swipe may be swept away. Gen Z, it turns out, is not as into hookups – and less enamored of swiping. Tinder usership has 'flatlined.'
In response, Tinder's incoming CEO, Spencer Rascoff, is zeroing in on customer experience or, as it's often called in the app world, user experience. He's bringing in new features, using artificial intelligence, and emphasizing safe dating in an effort to bring back Gen Z.
That's as smart as making sure your first date is in a public place. A key component of experience is adaptability, and that can mean knowing your audience and changing with the times.
What delights one generation might alienate another; smart companies know better than to treat them the same. In the early part of the 20th Century, for example, virtually all men wore a hat. How many do today?
Brands that respect changing tastes and societal norms are more likely to keep users buying their products – and provide them with better experiences that keep them coming back.
The difference between customer experience (CX) and user experience (UX) is subtle yet important.
User experience is generally defined as the technical side of how people interact with a product – shown by metrics such as success rate and error rate – and their experience from that interaction. It is generally considered a component of overall customer experience, although with digital-only companies it's often one and the same.
Customer experience is broader, including all of the interactions customers have with a brand and how likely they are to recommend it to others.
For dating apps, user experience also refers to the broader feeling of using the app, in addition to the technical side of how the app itself works.
When it debuted in 2012, Tinder was a dating app sensation, reaching a billion matches in two years.
Much of that was due to what was considered to be its solid user experience, with a simplicity of design and the straightforward swipe.
'There's something to be learned from the way Tinder's UX elements work together to create a cohesive whole, one reviewer wrote in 2014. 'By reflecting human behavior, presenting the right information, staying simple and trustworthy, and using an addictive gesture, Tinder has become a wildly successful app.'
By last year, however, things had changed. An analysis of the user experience of seven online dating services by a UX research firm ranked Tinder last.
Users of all sites expressed frustration with dishonest users and dating scams, which appeared to be a particular problem on Tinder. While 19 percent of all dating service users said they had been asked for money by a potential match, that happened most frequently on Tinder (37 percent).
Tinder did lead the pack in one metric, however: hookups. Nearly 50 percent of users said they used the app for that reason, compared to eight percent for Match.
And that's a significant part of the problem: Experts say Gen Z users are less into hookups and are more skeptical of online dating in general, with some tired of swiping and dealing with ghosting and fake accounts.
Some even prefer to – gasp – meet people in person.
Match Group last month said it would cut 13 percent of its workforce amid weak demand from younger users.
'This generation of Gen Z, 18 to 28 – it's not a hookup generation. They don't drink as much alcohol, they don't have as much sex,' Rascoff, who is also chief executive of Match Group, told investors last month. 'We need to adapt our products to accept that reality.'
His solution: a move away from hookup culture through better user experience. That means increased use of AI, more focus on safety, and innovative new products.
For example, Tinder has been testing a 'double dating' feature that enables users to team up with friends and match with other pairs for dates.
In a recent internal memo, Rascoff even went so far as to say that employees should focus on improving people's experiences on the app even if it sacrifices short-term revenue.
That's not something you hear every day, but it's a good sign that the Tinder dating app experience is about to be improved. And it's further proof that Tinder and its parent company recognize that if users don't have good experiences on the app, they will take their dating business elsewhere.