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People are experience goods: Improving online dating with virtual dates

Author

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  • Frost, Jeana H.
  • Chance, Zoë
  • Norton, Michael I.
  • Ariely, Dan

Abstract

We suggest that online dating frequently fails to meet user expectations because people, unlike many commodities available for purchase online, are experience goods: Daters wish to screen potential romantic partners by experiential attributes (such as sense of humor or rapport), but online dating Web sites force them to screen by searchable attributes (such as income or religion). We demonstrate that people spend too much time searching for options online for too little payoff in offline dates (Study 1), in part because users desire information about experiential attributes, but online dating Web sites contain primarily searchable attributes (Study 2). Finally, we introduce and beta test the Virtual Date, offering potential dating partners the opportunity to acquire experiential information by exploring a virtual environment in interactions analogous to real first dates (such as going to a museum), an online intervention that led to greater liking after offline meetings (Study 3).

Suggested Citation

  • Frost, Jeana H. & Chance, Zoë & Norton, Michael I. & Ariely, Dan, 2008. "People are experience goods: Improving online dating with virtual dates," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 51-61.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joinma:v:22:y:2008:i:1:p:51-61
    DOI: 10.1002/dir.20107
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Ravi Bapna & Jui Ramaprasad & Galit Shmueli & Akhmed Umyarov, 2016. "One-Way Mirrors in Online Dating: A Randomized Field Experiment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(11), pages 3100-3122, November.
    2. Labrecque, Lauren I. & Markos, Ereni & Milne, George R., 2011. "Online Personal Branding: Processes, Challenges, and Implications," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 37-50.
    3. Gal-Or, Esther, 2020. "Market segmentation on dating platforms," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    4. Ni Huang & Gordon Burtch & Yumei He & Yili Hong, 2022. "Managing Congestion in a Matching Market via Demand Information Disclosure," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 33(4), pages 1196-1220, December.
    5. Michael Hutter, 2011. "Experience Goods," Chapters, in: Ruth Towse (ed.), A Handbook of Cultural Economics, Second Edition, chapter 29, Edward Elgar Publishing.

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