Frost & Sullivan releases 'Independent Market Study on China's Love Service Industry'

The love service industry has undergone 40 years of development and expansion since the 1980s. In the future, the industry will tend towards refined development to meet the love needs of different people at different stages, entering a stage of full industrial chain integration.

In the future, the love service industry will enter a stage of refined development. The differentiated competition trend in the marriage and dating industry is evident, with many emerging brands providing services for specific groups. At the same time, there is a clear trend towards high-end and customized wedding ceremony services. Love community apps rapidly iterate based on the characteristics and needs of couples of different ages and gradually integrate with industries such as e-commerce, marriage and dating, and wedding ceremony services, offering broad development prospects for the industry. As the integration process of the entire love service industry chain continues to advance, providers of full-chain love services are embracing development opportunities.

Data source: Analysis by Frost & Sullivan

After years of development and accumulation, the overall market scale of China's love service industry is huge. In 2016, the market scale of China's love service industry was about 1.2 trillion yuan, and by 2021, it had grown to 1.8 trillion yuan, with an average annual compound growth rate of about 7.5% from 2016 to 2021. As people's pursuit of spiritual satisfaction continues to rise, the market scale of the love service industry is expected to further expand in the future, growing to 2.1 trillion yuan by 2026, with an average annual compound growth rate of about 4.1% from 2021 to 2026.

Within the segmented industries, the marriage and dating industry and the love community industry will continue to maintain relatively high growth in the future, with an average annual compound growth rate of 6.6% and 10.9% from 2021 to 2026, respectively. Affected by the decreasing number of marriages year by year and the pandemic, the wedding ceremony service industry's market growth rate slowed down from 2021 to 2026 but still maintained a steady growth rate of 4.1%.

Data source: Analysis by Frost & Sullivan

The number of people registering for marriage in China has shown a downward trend over the years. Looking at the segmented age groups of married individuals in 2021, the proportion of those aged 40 and above has gradually climbed, mainly due to the increasing prevalence of remarriage.

The low fertility rate in society and the continuous reduction in the total number of women of childbearing age in China have led to China gradually falling into a low fertility trap. In 2021, the global average fertility rate was 2.3 per mil, while in China it was only 1.16 per mil.The love service industry serves to increase the marriage rate and has played a positive role in alleviating low fertility rates to a certain extent.

Source: Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Frost & Sullivan analysis

With the development of social economy, the improvement of people's education level, increased life pressure, and changes in marriage concepts,The average age at first marriage in China has become a common trend,From an average age of less than 27 years at first marriage in 2016 to nearly 29 years in 2020, and there is still an upward trend for the future.

Despite the continuous postponement of marriage age, the overall number of people in marriage remains the highest.The market demand for marriage, dating, and wedding ceremonies still exists and is substantial.In the age group of 45-49 and beyond, the number of single individuals and those in a relationship increases. People's understanding of emotional relationships has become more mature.The love needs of older age groups are being greatly unleashed, presenting significant potential for market development.

Data source: Analysis by Frost & Sullivan

The love service industry serves the national economy and people's livelihood, which is conducive to maintaining social stability and enhancing national competitiveness. In recent years, with the support of various policies from the state and local governments, the love service industry has embraced new development opportunities.

Data source: Analysis by Frost & Sullivan

(1) The consumer group has become more refined, with a significant release of 'silver-haired demand', driving industry development.With the continuous improvement of social inclusiveness and the awakening of people's self-awareness, the elderly are also brave in pursuing love. The necessity and importance of companionship and care for the elderly, as well as the stronger willingness of the elderly population or their children to pay for services, have led to a massive release of 'silver-haired demand' in the love service industry. The refined services tailored to specific groups bring new growth momentum to the industry's development.

(2) The change in the main structure of consumer groups and their demand levels has promoted the optimization and upgrading of products and services by love service providers.The change in people's cognition about maintaining emotional relationships has given rise to more emotional-based businesses, prompting love service providers to enhance the richness of their products and services, and driving the development and upgrading of the love service industry.

(3) Consumers' pursuit of 'ritual experience' drives the growth of the love service market.The essence of love service is to meet people's spiritual needs. Consumers are more willing to pay for high-value-added services, which prompts love service providers to continuously improve product and service quality, enhance their innovation capabilities, and drive industry development.

(4) The Internet and mobile Internet empower love service providers, promoting enterprises to improve quality and efficiency, and enhancing user satisfaction.Today's fast-paced life and social pressure make single individuals more willing to choose professional service agencies to save time and meet their needs. Love service providers reach more potential consumers through internet platforms, mobile apps, WeChat mini-programs, and other channels, accumulating user consumption behavior data. By analyzing consumer behavior data, they further optimize product services and enhance the consumer experience.

(1) The standardization level of product services is continuously improving.Standardized products facilitate rapid replication by enterprises for regional expansion, leading to the emergence of nationwide layout businesses.

(2) The enterprise's product innovation capabilities continue to improve, and the industry is rapidly iterating and upgrading.Product is the core competitiveness of love service enterprises. Love service consumption is a low-frequency transaction, and only by providing services more precisely can love service enterprises stand out in the fierce market competition.

(3) Love service providers are focusing on different demographics, with a clear trend of differentiated competition.The homogenization phenomenon in the love service industry is still relatively serious. Large-scale love service providers have also seized on the pain points of emerging consumer groups, quickly occupying the market through differentiated services, and the industry is developing towards refinement.

(4) The integration of the entire industrial chain is continuously improving, meeting consumers' love needs throughout their entire life cycle.With the development of the love service industry, the integration of upstream and downstream industries has become an inevitable trend. Love service providers, focusing on users' love needs, are gradually expanding horizontally into related industries while deepening their core business, enriching the diversity of brand services, and providing users with full life-cycle love services. In the process of rapid layout and integrated development, they are driving the industry forward at a fast pace.

(5) Modern information technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence are applied in love service scenarios to improve service efficiency.As modern science and technology gradually penetrate into the love service industry, the industry continues to develop and upgrade. Internet big data helps enterprises understand consumer behavior information, launch products that better meet market demands, and improve service efficiency. The development of artificial intelligence technologies such as AR/VR brings immersive consumer experiences to love service scenarios, promoting payment conversions.

(4) Layout with new trends, seize the trend of pan-entertainment and community service models, and provide consumers with diversified value-added services.

• Lily's Perfect Match

The predecessor of Laiyue Jiayuan was Laiyue.com, established in 2004 and a leading enterprise in the marriage and dating industry. In 2017, Laiyue.com, one of the top two domestic marriage brands, merged with Century Jiayuan, officially forming the Laiyue Jiayuan Group. The Laiyue Jiayuan Group is an industry group based on the love service industrial chain, with marriage and dating services as its core. It includes well-known industry brands such as Century Jiayuan, Laiyue.com, Ai'en, Hui'ai Wedding, Xizhuang, Sunny Wedding Shop, and Love Diary. Based on a diversified business matrix and combining long-term accumulated internet technology and love service-related data networks, the Laiyue Jiayuan Group aims to maximize customer quality needs by establishing a love service industrial chain and completing a full life cycle coverage of love services from "marriage and dating ➡ love ➡ wedding ➡ family." It is a leading provider of full-industry-chain love services in China.

Data source: Analysis by Frost & Sullivan

Lily Joy Group is the only company that covers all three major sub-industries: marriage and dating, wedding ceremony services, and love communities. It is a leading provider of full industrial chain love services in China.

• Match Group

Match Group is a leading operator of applications and a pioneer in digital technology. Match Group has established meaningful connections with millions of users, and its global brand portfolio includes Tinder, Hinge, Match, Meetic, OkCupid, Pairs, Plenty Of Fish, Azar, Hakuna, and more. Each brand has its own target user demographic and provides customized services for them. The group has reshaped the concept of online dating, continuously innovating in application portfolio categories. Through its diverse brands, it provides meaningful emotional connections to people of different ages, regions, genders, sexual orientations, and backgrounds.

Data source: Analysis by Frost & Sullivan

• Glelia

The pioneer and leader of one-stop wedding halls in China. The company's one-stop wedding halls are mostly standalone buildings, equipped with exquisite art-themed designs, professional lighting, sound, and stage design equipment, as well as a comprehensive team including wedding planners, stylists, photographers, videographers, MCs, wedding supervisors, florists, and chefs. These services cater to the personalized, customized, and convenient needs of young couples born after 1995. Glerya highly standardizes its product services, providing tailored and reliable wedding services for couples, achieving "what you see is what you get," and accelerating the national expansion of the brand. Glerya has partnered with many first-tier brands, actively engaging in cross-border collaborations and joint activities to further enrich its brand image.

Data source: Analysis by Frost & Sullivan