Table of Contents
Introduction
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- Definitions
- Methodology
- Abbreviations
Executive Summary
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- Relationship happiness highest amongst married adults
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- Figure 1: Marital and dating status, February 2013
- Daters trust word-of-mouth recommendations
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- Figure 2: Activities people have done to find a partner in the past year, February 2013
- First impressions matter
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- Figure 3: What singles will do to improve their chances of finding a partner in the next year, February 2013
- Fewer than one in five feel pressure to find a partner
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- Figure 4: Attitudes towards being single, February 2013
- What we think
Issues in the Market
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- How is the makeup of the population of British singles changing?
- How do singles improve their chances on the dating scene?
- Is being single more expensive than having a partner?
- How successful are online technologies at fostering romantic connections?
Trend Application
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- Trend: Carnivore, Herbivore… Locavore
- Trend: Extend my Brand
- Mintel Futures Trend: Generation Next
Demographic Overview
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- Key points
- Trends in lifestage
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- Figure 5: Forecast adult population trends, by lifestage, 2007-17
- Household size trends
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- Figure 6: UK households, by size, 2007-17
- Marital status by age group
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- Figure 7: Marital status, by age, February 2013
Modern Relationships in Britain
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- Key points
- Marriage is still the most common form of partnership
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- Figure 8: Marital and dating status, February 2013
- Living situation colours spending priorities
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- Figure 9: Presence of children in the household, February 2013
- Majority of couples have been together longer than ten years
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- Figure 10: Length of relationship, February 2013
- Married adults most happy with their relationship status
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- Figure 11: Satisfaction with current relationship status, by marital status, February 2013
- British singles aspire towards relationships
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- Figure 12: Satisfaction with current relationship status, by dating status, February 2013
How People Find a Partner
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- Key points
- Cautious daters
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- Figure 13: Activities people have done to find a partner in the past year, February 2013
- Nearly half of 16-24-year-olds find dates through friends
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- Figure 14: Activities people have done to find a partner in the past year, by gender and age, February 2013
- Over four in ten explore two or more ways of finding a partner
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- Figure 15: Number of activities single people have done to find a partner in the past year, February 2013
- Friends, as key match-makers for existing couples
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- Figure 16: How coupled adults met their existing partners, February 2013
Daily Lifestyle
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- Key points
- Home alone
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- Figure 17: Everyday habits, by marital status, February 2013
- Isolation drives unhappiness with being single
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- Figure 18: Everyday habits, by happiness with relationship status, February 2013
- Nearly four in ten singletons spend money as they please
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- Figure 19: Everyday habits, by marital status, February 2013
- Affluent singles splash the cash to maintain their image
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- Figure 20: Everyday habits, by household income, February 2013
- Marriage and cohabitation makes people house-proud
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- Figure 21: Attitudes towards housework, by marital status, 2012
- Over four in ten singles don’t pay attention to what they eat
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- Figure 22: Attitudes towards nutrition and shopping for food, by marital status, 2012
Spending Habits
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- Key points
- Debt reduction not a big priority for singles
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- Figure 23: How people spent their money in the past three months, by marital status, February 2013
- Making an effort on the dating scene
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- Figure 24: How people spent their money in the past three months, by dating status, February 2013
- Vanity and personal purchases are top spend for singles
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- Figure 25: Top ten things that extra money is spent on, by marital status, February 2013
- Length of relationship has a bearing on couples’ sense of adventure
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- Figure 26: Number of things that adults spend their extra money on, by dating status and length of relationship, February 2013
Future Priorities
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- Key points
- Work hard, play hard
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- Figure 27: Future priorities, by marital status, February 2013
- Females show more interest in healthy lifestyles
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- Figure 28: Future priorities, by marital status, continued, February 2013
- Adults who are not on dating scene have fewer goals
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- Figure 29: Future priorities, by dating status, February 2013
- Singletons have more plans for the future
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- Figure 30: Number of future priorities, by marital status, February 2013
Improving Chances of Finding a Partner
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- Key points
- Urban singles go the extra length to improve their dating prospects
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- Figure 31: What singles plan to do to improve their chances of finding a partner in the next year, February 2013
- Younger singletons attribute more importance to their looks
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- Figure 32: What singles will do to improve their chances of finding a partner in the next year, by age, February 2013
- Over eight in ten singletons would make changes to meet a partner
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- Figure 33: Number of things singles will do to improve their chances of finding a partner in the next year, by gender and age, February 2013
- Unhappy singles more willing to change
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- Figure 34: Number of things singles will do to improve their chances of finding a partner in the next year, by satisfaction with being single, February 2013
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- Figure 35: Number of things singles will do to improve their chances of finding a partner in the next year, by future priorities, February 2013
Attitudes towards Being Single
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- Key points
- 6.8 million singles believe there is a social stigma attached to being single
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- Figure 36: Attitudes towards being single, February 2013
- Women find being single more expensive
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- Figure 37: Attitudes towards being single, by gender, February 2013
- Youngest and oldest singles most happy about their living standards
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- Figure 38: Attitudes towards being single, by age, February 2013
Singles’ Typologies
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- Key points
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- Figure 39: Singles’ typologies, February 2013
- Prone to Indulgence (28%)
- Who are they?
- Happily Single (25%)
- Who are they?
- The Quietly Content (24%)
- Who are they?
- Under Pressure (23%)
- Who are they?
Appendix – Demographic Overview
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- Figure 40: Employment status by relationship status, February 2013
- Figure 41: Relationship status, February 2013
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- Figure 42: Marital status, by demographics, February 2013
- Figure 43: Relationship status of singles, by demographics, February 2013
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- Figure 44: People living alone in the UK (millions), by age group, 1996-2012
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Appendix – How People Find a Partner
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- Figure 45: How people find a partner, by demographics, February 2013
- Figure 46: Repertoire of how people find a partner, by demographics, February 2013
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- Figure 47: How people found their existing partners, by demographics, February 2013
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Appendix – Daily Lifestyle
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- Habits of single, separated, divorced and widowed adults
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- Figure 48: Daily habits, by demographics, February 2013
- Figure 49: Daily habits, by demographics, continued, February 2013
- Habits of adults who are married, in civil partnerships, or living as married
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- Figure 50: Daily habits, by demographics, February 2013
- Figure 51: Daily habits, by demographics, continued, February 2013
Appendix – Spending Habits
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- Figure 52: Activities done in the past three months and planned activities for the next three months, by marital status, February 2013
- Figure 53: What extra money is spent on, by marital status, February 2013
- Figure 54: What extra money is spent on, by dating status, February 2013
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Appendix – Future Priorities
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- Future priorities of single, separated, widowed and divorced adults
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- Figure 55: Future priorities, by demographics, February 2013
- Figure 56: Future priorities, by demographics, continued, February 2013
- Future priorities of adults who are married, in civil partnerships or are living as married
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- Figure 57: Future priorities, by demographics, February 2013
- Figure 58: Future priorities, by demographics, continued, February 2013
Appendix – Improving Chances of Finding a Partner
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- Figure 59: Improving chances of finding a partner, by demographics, February 2013
- Figure 60: Repertoire of improving chances of finding a partner, February 2013
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- Figure 61: Repertoire of Improving chances of finding a partner, by demographics, February 2013
- Figure 62: Improving chances of finding a partner, by most popular future priorities, February 2013
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- Figure 63: Improving chances of finding a partner, by next most popular future priorities, February 2013
- Figure 64: Repertoire of improving chances of finding a partner, by most popular future priorities, February 2013
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- Figure 65: Repertoire of improving chances of finding a partner, by next most popular future priorities, February 2013
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Appendix – Attitudes towards Being Single
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- Figure 66: Agreement with the statements ‘There is a social stigma attached to being single’ and ‘I feel pressure from family/friends to find a partner’, by demographics, February 2013
- Figure 67: Agreement with the statements ‘Being single is more expensive compared with having a partner (eg splitting rent, holiday costs)’ and ‘Being single offers more freedom to do what you want, when you want’, by demographics, February 2013
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- Figure 68: Agreement with the statements ‘Single people tend to have a more varied social life’ and ‘Cooking just for yourself is not enjoyable’, by demographics, February 2013
- Figure 69: Agreement with the statements ‘I enjoy spending on my appearance’ and ‘I enjoy splashing out on a meal in a restaurant’, by demographics, February 2013
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- Figure 70: Agreement with the statements ‘I am perfectly happy with my standard of living’ and ‘A tight circle of friends is more important than having a partner’, by demographics, February 2013
- Figure 71: Agreement with the statements ‘I tend to feel out of place when socialising with couples’, by demographics, February 2013
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Appendix – Singles’ Typologies
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- Figure 72: Singles’ typologies, by demographics, February 2013
- Figure 73: Daily habits, by target groups, February 2013
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- Figure 74: How people find a partner, by target groups, February 2013
- Figure 75: Repertoire of how people find a partner, by target groups, February 2013
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- Figure 76: Future priorities, by target groups, February 2013
- Figure 77: Repertoire of future priorities, by target groups, February 2013
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- Figure 78: Improving chances of finding a partner, by target groups, February 2013
- Figure 79: Repertoire of improving chances of finding a partner, by Target groups, February 2013
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- Figure 80: Attitudes towards being single, by target groups, February 2013
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