Survey reveals 36% of Hong Kong singles would settle, once they have reached the best age to marry, and 70% of them could not find useful dating advice

Lunch Actually revamps its ‘Dating Coach’ service to address Hong Kongers’ need for more effective dating & relationship techniques

HONG KONG, February 2018 — Asia’s first and largest lunch dating company, Lunch Actually commemorates 10 years of successfully matching tens of thousands of people in Hong Kong by revealing their latest dating surveys that highlight increasing dating challenges faced by local singles in this digital age.

The recent dating and relationship surveys conducted by Lunch Actually with a total of over 1,000 Hong Kong singles revealed that 34% of singles expects to marry at 30. Once they reach the best age to get married, 36% of them would settle for someone they are not 100% in love with. Yet, most respondents are finding it increasingly difficult to find a compatible date, sustaining a relationship and getting good dating advices.

The dating surveys covered a wide number of topics, including their first date challenges, dating fears, dating advice, expectations in a relationship and the impact of technology and more online dating platforms.

Some of the key findings are highlighted here:

1. While technology has helped singles to expand their social circle easily, it has also made dating more complicated. 58% of Hong Kong dating apps users did not go on any dates in the past month.

2. 53% singles have ghosted someone they were dating.

3. 87% singles who are using dating apps or online dating websites are worried about meeting cheaters or players.

4. Seeing a match with bathroom selfie is a red flag to 41% of Hong Kong singles. And 22% of them were not confident and unsure how to move online chatting to real dates.

5. 40% of singles thought communication is their biggest personal dating flaw. This communication problem includes not knowing what topics to talk about during a date, being too shy, being too talkative, or having no communication skills.

6. 70% of singles thought the dating advice they received from friends and families, online forums or self-help books did not help at all in their dating challenges, due to: advice being too general (27%), and being overwhelmed by too much differing advice to the point that they did not know which one to follow (26%).

a. When it comes to dating advice, 54% of Hong Kong singles goes to their trusted friends and family first, while 67% of them seeks advice from multiple sources (friends, family, online forums, self-help books, videos) to gather more opinions.

b. When respondents were asked “who understands their personality and dating preferences best”, over 60% of Hong Kong singles said “themselves”, followed by “friends and family members” (33%) with colleagues (1%) and Facebook (0.24%)

7. 1 in 3 respondents agreed that professional help, such as dating coaches and dating agencies, were best at giving relationship-related advice.

Having been in the dating industry for the past 14 years in Asia, Lunch Actually has identified the real challenges faced by singles.

“This survey just cemented what we have observed: that some singles are facing challenges despite having more options than ever to meet new people and expand their social circle. Along with too many conflicting sources of advice, they might not be equipped with the right mindset or skillset to really identify the best way to tackle their dating problems and successfully find the Right One,” observed Violet Lim, CEO and Co-Founder of Lunch Actually.

The lifestyle changes and technology advancements add another layer of complexity to the dating scene. “It’s important that singles learn how to present their best self-online and identify those who are not genuine quickly. Also, if you do not know how to engage your match on WhatsApp (so-called mini dates), you may lose the chance to meet them in real dates. Despite of technical skills, it is crucial to understand the thoughts of opposite gender which family and friends are usually not capable of giving singles a holistic and objective view.”

With this, Violet and her team have leveraged on their experience and observations to develop a date coaching program under Lunch Actually Academy back in 2014 that tackles dating issues. Now, further emphasized by the survey findings, Lunch Actually Academy has recently revamped its program to help singles discover their dating value, understand the opposite sex, and discover new ways to excel at the dating game in the 21st century.

From the new Lunch Actually Academy’s one-to-one coaching sessions, singles can learn to:

• Bring their communication skills to a new level, by learning what to share on dates, what to do to secure subsequent dates and eventually build that a long-term committed relationship.

• Hone dating skills and achieve great results by adapting their behaviour and image so that it is truly congruent with their unique personality.

• Achieve the perfect image persona to effectively communicate with their dates, boost their confidence and bring about a positive impact to all aspects of their lives.

• Enhance dating profile to be more attractive and ensure success in getting positive matches.

When it comes to asking for dating and relationship advice to address their dating challenges, Hong Kongers shared that they would rank “trustworthiness” and “privacy” most important.

“A lot of things in life, we don’t learn in school, such as how to date or how to be the right one. We learn this from experience and the people around us. However, the people around us may not always have an approach to relationships that’s exactly right for you,” Violet concludes.

“The role of our Lunch Actually Academy coach is to understand our client’s current situation and where they would like to be in order to help them address that gap from an objective point based on the experience of tens of thousands of singles that we have helped. Our goal is to help Hong Kongers enhance their dating life and create 1 million happy marriages. We believe that singles can benefit from our professional coaching service.”

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