It's a Match: Marketing Research on Tinder

I recently read an article on the website Advertising Age about Gilette turning to Tinder for marketing research. I know marketing research is going on all around, but I am still always surprised when I see a study like this. According to the research, out of all the right swipes, groomed guys got 74% of those swipes. This is a great example of marketing research being taken straight into the "real world" as opposed to just asking girls if they preferred well-groomed men. The study also got me curious as to if there were surveys out in the world of marketing research that had different results, and if it existed, why the results might be different.

After researching other articles I came across some research with results in line with the Tinder study, but also going into more detail on the subject. With the study of Tinder, the researchers simply observed how people interacted on Tinder, so really the only two metrics were studied; what percentage of right swipes involved men with well kept facial hair, and how many matches were with well-groomed men. In the other study I found, pictures of men were manipulated to range from clean shaven to unkempt facial hair with 3 different levels in between. The women were then asked to rate each of the faces on roughly 5 different elements. So instead of just watching if the women are overall interested in the men, like with the Tinder study, the women rate each man on a scale from one to five. Turns out the men with slight stubble (but still groomed) were more likely to thought of as masculine and attractive. These faces with stubble were also perceived to be a better option for short and long term relationships.

Both of these studies seem to line up in their findings. It seems that women really do prefer a little well groomed facial hair. So, if you are a guy who uses Tinder I would recommend a picture showing off your well-groomed face!