US online dating industry revenueNew LEGO sets released worldwide
Between 2003 and 2022, LEGO released more sets per year and online dating companies earned more money per year, and the two have risen together (r = 0.957) with the matching cheer of companies that have figured out their customer will pay forever. One keeps adding more bricks; one keeps adding more swipes. Both businesses understand the power of the slightly new variant of the familiar thing.
New LEGO sets released worldwide grew from about 350 per year in 2003 to over 730 by 2022, with licensed IP (Star Wars, Harry Potter, Super Mario) driving most of the growth; US online dating revenue grew from about $200 million to over $4 billion, with Match Group's portfolio absorbing Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, and several secondary brands. Both are stories of tastefully infinite catalog strategies — LEGO's Ideas platform and Modular Buildings lineup, Tinder's Super Likes and Boosts — designed to keep the customer returning because the next release will be slightly better than the last.
A new brick set. A new premium tier. Both categories understand that completion is a disastrous product goal.
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