Reach3 Insights research shows nearly half of US Population is currently using technology-based health devices & apps but want more monitoring services for heart health, blood pressure, vitamin/mineral deficiencies and hydration
Chicago, IL, December 15, 2021 – One third of Americans say they are interested in technology that can predict their life expectancy, with millennials (46%) and males (41%) most interested.
TrendSpot: Digital Health & Wellness, a new ongoing research program focusing on digital health and wellness trends, developed by Reach3 Insights, in partnership with mobile market research platform Rival Technologies and research and advisory firm Kaleido Insights, shows that Americans currently spend a monthly average of $46 on health apps and services and an annual average of $526 on health devices.
“More and more Americans are looking to apps and devices for health data, wellness tracking, and other personal insights,” says Matt Kleinschmit, CEO and Founder of Reach3 Insights. “Now is the time for companies & industries interested in playing a role in the future of health to deeply understand the attitudes and behaviors that are driving these trends so that they can be well positioned to capitalize on the rapidly expanding digital health market.”
About half of those surveyed currently utilize health tech devices, especially wearables, with fitness-oriented wearables the most popular (i.e., Fitbit, where 30% of respondents expressed interest), followed by smart home health devices (i.e., air purifier, mirror, 18%), holistic wearables (i.e. Apple Watch, 14%), and smart scales (14%). There is still, however, an untapped demand for monitoring services for heart health with 87% or respondents saying they would be interested in such technology, blood pressure (83%), vitamin/mineral deficiencies (83%) and hydration (82%).
As interest in health & wellness devices continues to grow, so does usage of fitness-oriented health and wellness apps with 40% of Americans currently having at least one or more apps in this category installed on their phone. A variety of other fitness and nutrition-related apps also are popular, with 21% of respondents stating they have a nutrition/weight control app currently on their mobile device, and 16% saying they have a sleep monitoring app installed. Higher income, younger, urban individuals and parents are more engaged with health apps and devices, with adoption rates over 50%.
Mental and brain health apps are poised for the most growth as Gen Z in particular is showing strong interest in this category. A quarter of Gen Z and Millennials use mental health apps, with 86% of Gen Z surveyed saying they would like technology to help them monitor their mental health/mood.
“As younger generations are leading the charge on the importance of people prioritizing their mental health, it is no surprise that an app that helps monitor one’s mental wellbeing has gained the interest of Gen Z,” said Kleinschmit. “Over the past couple of years (and especially during the pandemic), we have seen this continued shift demonstrated by consumers’ desire to track every aspect of their fitness and wellbeing journeys in a safe and secure way, and mental health tracking is now also poised for growth.”
Generationally, mental health has the largest gap in interest and usage, with younger generations more likely to currently have mental health apps on their phones (Gen Z – 26%; Millennials – 22%) than older generations (Gen X – 8%; Boomers – 1%). Overall, 36% of all respondents said they would use mental health tracking apps in the future, with Gen Z having the most significant interest (61%).
Fertility apps, on the other hand, likely won’t benefit from the types of growth other health apps are poised for, at least for now, even among younger people who overwhelmingly said they were not interested in using this type of app in the future (Gen Z – 61% responded not interested, Millennials – 53%). Other unpopular areas where respondents showed the least amount of interest in future usage include predisposition for diseases (60%), VO2 levels (59%), relationship compatibility (42%), and fertility (35%).
TrendSpot: Digital Health & Wellness, which engages consumers via mobile messaging-based techniques, also found that when asked how they’d like to pay for technologies that help monitor health, 40% of respondents said they would prefer to pay via their existing health insurance bundle. That preference, however, is skewed by older generations (Boomers - 56%; Gen X - 43%; Millennials - 29%; Gen Z - 28%). Younger generations lean toward wanting these services as part of their health insurance bundle, but there isn't a clear preference as they would not mind paying via a subscription fee (18%; Gen Z - 22%; Millennial - 25%).
“Consumers are expecting and looking for traditional health players to offer such services,” said Kleinschmit “There’s an immense opportunity for health services to cultivate partnerships with newer tech-based companies and win market and mind-share among younger consumers in particular.”
For more information and to register for Reach3’s January 11th webinar, Digital Health & Wellness in 2022: Trends, Transparency & Trust, featuring Jeremiah Owyang, Founder of Kaleido Insights: https://www.reach3insights.com/digital-health-wellness-webinar
Reach3 Insights is a full-service research consultancy that develops scalable, conversational insight solutions for today’s modern, agile enterprise. Led by CEO Matt Kleinschmit, the company uses immersive, in-the-moment research designs and dynamic digital storytelling to deliver deep experiential insights that inspire action. Reach3 is part of the Rival Group and a sister company to Rival Technologies, a tech company developing chat, voice and video solutions that integrate into messaging platforms and technologies that people actively use on a daily basis. For more information, visit https://www.reach3insights.com.
Rival Technologies is the world's best mobile market research platform. Building on 20 years of experience in the research space, we blend best-in-class digital experiences with sophisticated market research rigor in a way that inspires people to share deep, rich and actionable insights. Email surveys are dead tech and feel more like a test than a meaningful brand engagement— which is what people crave. We engage consumers in real-time, on their mobile phones, in a way that feels organic, familiar, and fun. By using chat, video, and machine learning, our system captures robust quantitative and rich qualitative feedback fast and effectively. Working with leading-edge brands like ViacomCBS, P&G, Facebook, REVOLT TV, and Samsung, we make market research more inclusive, accessible, and relevant to the modern mass consumer. For more information, visit https://www.rivaltech.com.
Kaleido Insights is a research and advisory firm based in San Francisco. Our industry analysts and founding partners provide business leaders with clarity amidst a fragmented technology landscape.
Our mission is to enable organizations to decipher foresee, and act on technological disruption with agility, based on our rigorous original research, trends analysis, events, and pragmatic recommendations.
Innovators are realizing that implementing each new technology isn’t enough, especially as business models are disrupted. Keeping up is becoming more difficult. We help organizations stay ahead in a rapidly-changing world as trusted advisors. For more information, visit https://www.kaleidoinsights.com.
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