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Research Outline

Prepared for Ian L. | Delivered August 19, 2020

Fitness App Overview

Goals

To provide an overview of fitness apps including the key players (both digital-first players, and also players like Equinox who may have turned to digital in order to remain relevant during COVID-19, key end-user/consumer needs for fitness app (fitness and fitness related), key current and future market drivers (what is the market expecting, what technology will impact fitness, what other services), and the shortcomings of current fitness apps.

Early Findings

Customer Needs for a Fitness App

  • According to a survey by GutCheck, the top three features that users watch out for in a fitness app are weight goal setting, nutritional goal setting, and health/fitness tips and advice.
  • According to the report, 33% of correspondents mentioned weight goal-setting feature as the primary consideration factor in choosing a fitness app, while 30% and 28% of correspondents mentioned nutritional goal setting and health/fitness tips & advice as their major consideration, respectively.
  • Other factors considered by users and their percentage votes are provided below;
    • Instructional videos for workouts: 26% 
    • Workouts by muscle groups: 25% 
    • Workout time/clock: 25% 
    • Step goal setting: 24% 
    • Food recipes: 22% 
    • GPS tracker: 21% 
    • Reminder/alerts: 19% 
    • Personal trainers: 19% 
    • Progress photo upload: 12% 
    • Audio workouts: 12% 
    • Communities/groups/social sharing: 5%.
  • Also, some desired data by users and the percentage correspondent votes provided below;
    • Exercises/workouts completed: 54% 
    • Calories (food and exercise): 44% 
    • Weight: 43% 
    • Steps: 35% 
    • Nutritional information: 28% 
    • Sleep: 26% 
    • Heart rate: 25% 
    • Water consumed: 17% 
    • Body measurements: 16% 
    • Nutritional information by macronutrients: 12%.
  •  Glofox also outlined seven must-have features, which consumers are interested in. They include progress tracking, easy communication with members, push notification/reminder, branding and design, book and schedule classes, connection to wearables, and valuable content.

Shortcomings of Current Fitness Apps

  • The survey by GutCheck provides the leading barrier that fitness apps need to overcome to perform better. The barriers include;
    • Monthly subscription cost: 43% 
    • Bad reviews: 32% 
    • One time purchase cost: 27% 
    • App functionality was poor: 27% 
    • Was not easy to use/navigate: 25% 
    • Phone compatibility: 18% 
    • Did not synchronize with other devices (i.e. activity/step trackers): 14% 
    • Did not synchronize with other apps: 13% 
    • Does not connect with social media: 8%.
  • Some improvement features requested by consumers include more accurate tracking, more personalization, innovation, lower price, and better connectivity with other devices, apps, and social media.
  •  Ready 4S also provides a list of seven qualities people dislike about fitness apps. These include when the calorie-counter does not function well, lack of automation, drained battery, GPS issues, community support, too much data, and gamification issues.