COVID-19 impact: Matrimonial sites are taking online matchmaking to the next level

Taking online matchmaking to the next level in times of COVID-19, matrimony sites like Shaadi.com, BharatMatrimony and Jeevansathi have introduced the video calling feature.

Hari Krishan Kashyap, a 34-year-old businessman who has been on Shaadi.com since the start of the year and has used the video calling feature said, “It was helpful to start the initial conversation and see my match face-to-face."

"Once we get to know each other, I can move to phone calls. But for the first conversation, video call was useful since I could meet my match then and there,” he added.

For Shaadi.com that introduced the video calling feature called Shaadi Meet on June 19, the platform saw 75,000 members using the feature on the launch day. The number increased by 40 percent and went up to 105,000 members using Shaadi Meet on the second day.

Along with the feature gaining traction, overall engagement on the platform since the launch of Shaadi Meet went up by 21 percent.

Calling it a feature for the long run, Adhish Zaveri, Director-Marketing, Shaadi.com, said, “The video calling feature from a long-term standpoint will mean more quality engagement which equals to more people finding life partner which is a critical growth driver for the company. An increase in material engagement helps drive revenue. In the near-term, the feature will be helpful in converting our free members to premium members.”

BharatMatrimony also launched Live in-app video chatting a week back and since then the platform has seen an overall increase in engagement, said Murugavel Janakiraman, Founder and CEO of Matrimony.com.

“In the past few days, more than four lakh users have shown interest in video calling by upgrading to the latest version of the app. Engagement has gone up as before the video feature it was only through chats or calls. It is not only for the current situation, it is a permanent feature. Video call is as good as meeting someone in person. It also saves the embarrassment of getting rejected after meeting a person,” said Janakiraman.

In fact, a survey conducted by Jeevansathi last month showed that users wanted to engage more via video calls.

Around 46 percent of the profiles considered in the survey said they would like to meet their prospective partners for the first time on a video call.

On Jeevansathi, the use of video calls went up by 60 percent during the lockdown.

"While the video calling feature was launched in January this year, due to the pandemic, this feature has become even more relevant to our audiences who are looking for virtual ways of meeting prospects. During the Covid period, there has been a whopping 200 percent increase in the number of connected calls," said Rohan Mathur, Business Head, Jeevansathi.com.

He also added that with in-person meetings becoming a challenge, people are spending more time getting to know prospects over video calls. "The average call duration has increased to 3X compared to the pre-Covid period. Plus, during the lockdown period, the platform saw an overall growth of 30 percent in acquisition YoY," he added.

Matrimonial sites making video calling safe

But why use matrimonial sites for video calling? Why not do it directly?

The idea is safe virtual meets which can be done via the matrimonial sites.

“There is no need to share phone numbers to do the video call. Also, members can decide who video calls them. A user can choose from three options—only people who have matched can video call, everybody can video call or no one can video call; and the user is the one who initiates video calls. Members can decide when they connect with Shaadi Meet,” said Zaveri.

Adding to this, Janakiraman said, “Video calling is restricted to paid users. Even amid paid users, men cannot initiate the video call.”

Even on Shaadi.com, a video call can be initiated only by a premium user but can be received by both paid and free users.