What’s Your Price™ Doubled Down on Virtual Dating Tools During COVID-19

The Short Version: What’s Your Price is a unique dating platform that powers mutually beneficial matches between generous and attractive singles. How it works is simple — and potentially lucrative. One person bids money for a first date, and the other person can accept the offer, add the money to their bank account, and enjoy a fun night out. Of course, during the COVID-19 pandemic, nights out have been fewer and far between. As a result, What’s Your Price has gotten creative in how it introduces singles and facilitates engaging connections.

Traditional swiping apps offer no real incentive to follow a match through to a first date. Users can get an ego boost from their matches and ghost on conversations as soon as it’s convenient. The onslaught of tantalizing prospects keeps singles glued to the app when they should be going out on dates.

Taking a more practical approach, What’s Your Price (WYP) has made an effort to end futile ghosting patterns and motivate singles to show up for their dates.

What’s Your Price is a dating site where wealth and beauty meet and make mutually beneficial plans. The generous single makes an offer — or a bid, as it’s called on WYP — for the amount they are willing to pay that person just for going on a first date. If the person accepts, the date is on, and the money is transferred regardless of how the night goes.

Since its launch in 2003, What’s Your Price has welcomed over 4 million members to this novel way of picking up or accepting a date. The platform has facilitated over 7.5 million bids for dates, and the average first date incentive is $125.

What’s Your Price gives online daters an incentive to meet in person.

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses suffered financial losses, and What’s Your Price saw an immediate impact on its bottom line when lockdowns began across the U.S. and the world.

CEO Brandon Wade said revenue dropped by about 35% during the spring and summer of 2020. It was a difficult time for people across the board, and dating was not a priority for many singles under lockdown.

Fortunately, this dip in online activity and sales was temporary. What’s Your Price has since recovered and actually made gains in comparison to its pre-pandemic levels.

“In the end, the pandemic offered our business, and me personally, time to reflect and to reset,” said Brandon. “We took the initial slowdown as an opportunity to work on new features that will benefit our users for years to come.”

Over the last year, What’s Your Price has had to innovate the modern dating space yet again to help singles connect during the COVID-19 pandemic. The team has collaborated to create virtual dating tools that encourage safe interactions from home. That way, no user needs to risk their health (or their loved ones’ health) for a potential love match.

Meeting in person was no longer a viable option for users, so WYP focused on dynamic in-app communication.

“To cope with this new business reality, we added video chatting on our platform,” Brandon explained. “This new feature helped, and our revenues recovered by the fourth quarter of 2020.”

The pandemic marked an unprecedented time for the dating world. All of a sudden, hugs and coffee dates were taboo, and video dates became the new normal. As the months passed, many singles became more entrenched in their isolation and relied on dating sites and apps to provide social and romantic connections that were otherwise out of reach.

All around the world, people yearned for closeness and found ways to overcome the physical separation enforced everywhere from grocery stores to theme parks.

What’s Your Price sees about 30,000 signups per month.

In 2021, COVID vaccination rates began to rise in the U.S. and other parts of the world, and social distancing mandates began to loosen. A dark period of isolation has been replaced with a time of recovery and reconnection — and online dating is leading the charge.

What’s Your Price has bounced back in terms of traffic and revenue, and it is getting more clicks than ever before. It seems #hotvaxsummer is well underway.

“It is important to focus on the positive rather than the negative and to embrace optimism over pessimism,” Brandon said. “Technology has made it possible to create meaningful connections with others virtually, so no one needs to go through a difficult time alone.”

Brandon said he hopes to see the American dating scene fully recover from COVID-19, but vaccination rates need to continue to climb for that to happen.

“Our advice is for people to embrace science and reject unfounded conspiracy theories about vaccines,” he said. “In addition, people should seek professional help if they are still suffering emotionally or psychologically from the effects of the pandemic.”

Before the pandemic struck the States, many young Americans treated swiping for dates as a low-stress, ego-boosting game. It was all about the next match and the fastest possible way to find romance, even if that romance was superficial.

“Dating had almost become more of a hookup culture to the detriment of meaningful relationships,” Brandon explained. “During the pandemic, more singles are taking the time to get to know each other virtually before actually meeting in person. This has resulted in more genuine connections.”

Brandon said his mission is to add value to the online dating experience. Sometimes with straightforward economic incentives, and sometimes just by giving two people the means to have an organic conversation without rushing into anything serious.

Over the past year, What’s Your Price has invested in an artificial intelligence system to moderate the website. The software can scan for red flags and suspicious activity automatically and remove fake profiles, catfishers, scammers, and escorts before they can make trouble. The team’s goal is to use these behind-the-scenes features to help users stay safe and build trust with a genuine date prospect.

WYP members can text or video chat once they’ve agreed to a price for a first date.

Brandon said he has heard about thousands of relationships forming on What’s Your Price members, but his favorite success story comes from his best friend. After a divorce, the friend was leery about dating again, but he joined the dating site to see if any woman could tempt him. Now he is happily married to a woman he met through WYP.

WhatsYourPrice.com is designed to help connect single professionals who lead busy and successful lives and don’t have time to waste on flaky dates. The dating site’s unique auction setup allows people to be transparent about what they have to offer and what their time is worth.

As COVID restrictions lift, What’s Your Price is meeting high romantic demand with a growing supply of dating profiles, and date bids are taking off.

“Throughout 2020, WhatsYourPrice.com continued to play a big part in helping our users create genuine connections — even though many of those connections were virtual,” Brandon said. “My hope is that singles will take what they learned to heart and have a better dating experience when they finally meet in person.”

After a year of adjustment, reflection, and innovation, the online dating world has become stronger and more popular than ever. Singles around the world have renewed their efforts to find a compatible partner, and virtual dating tools have streamlined that search.

The post-Covid future appears bright for WhatsYourPrice.com. Not only has the dating site added robust video chat tools, but its team has gained a better appreciation for the value it can offer users.

“There is a pent-up need for in-person connection, and WhatsYourPrice.com is ready to help people find first dates quickly and efficiently,” Brandon said. “We’re working on a refreshed look with new features that will make dating easier, more fun, and rewarding.”

Dating and relationships are an essential part of life — and not even a global pandemic can change that. Looking ahead, the What’s Your Price has made its priorities clear. This niche brand has positioned itself as a guide for generous and attractive singles in the mood for a high-class date.

“Do keep an open mind, take calculated risks, but be willing to date outside of your comfort zone,” Brandon advised. “If you continue to do the same and date the same, the outcome will likely be the same. Learn from your past mistakes, and set a higher standard for who you choose to date next.”