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The fitness app market has snowballed over the last decade. In 2019, the global market size of health and wellness reached USD$4.4 trillion, which is expected to reach nearly USD$6 trillion by 2025.
With so much competition in the health and wellness industry, standing out from the crowd is necessary. That’s why developing a unique feature that sets your app apart from competitors is crucial. This article highlights some key features to include when developing Healthtech apps. But first, let’s look at one of the most popular sectors of the health and wellness app market.
The Rapid Growth of the Fitness App Market
According to a 2019 study, an estimated 21% of Americans use wearable gadgets synchronized with a fitness app. This growth is due primarily to the fact that people are becoming increasingly aware of their health and well-being. As such, they want to monitor their activity levels daily and to know how to improve these activities.
In addition, the rise of wearable technology means that people can now easily measure their physical activity without relying on traditional methods like weighing or using a pedometer.
As the fitness tracking market continuously grows, any new fitness tracker app developer needs to understand exactly what consumers expect from their product.
What Makes an Effective Health and Wellness App?
When creating a fitness tracker app, getting carried away with all sorts of bells and whistles is easy. However, without careful planning and research, you could end up making an app that doesn’t offer anything new or valuable for the health and wellness development of your users.
That’s why it’s vital to focus on the following features when designing a health and wellness app:
1. Real-time activity monitoring
It’s no secret that many individuals—especially the corporate working population—struggle to stay physically active throughout the day. As such, you must aim to provide them with real-time activity monitoring that allows them to see where their time is spent the most and whether they need to change their routine.
According to a 2020 study on the effectiveness of trackers, people who use a fitness tracker tend to engage more and increase their physical activity levels because they can monitor their progress in real-time. Hence, a real-time monitoring feature is necessary to keep track of their health status.
2. Personalized goals and challenges
People often fail to meet their goals simply because they don’t know what those goals should be. For example, one person may decide to lose weight while another wants to increase their strength. To help people achieve their goals, you may give them personalized challenges, from setting personal records to completing specific tasks.
Statistically, research says that 73% of people who start a fitness challenge give up on their goals because of difficulty and time. But no matter what reasons hinder them, encouraging your users to complete their challenges using an app can help them succeed. Remember, the more challenging the goal is, the more it motivates a person to accomplish it.
3. Social connectivity
As the fitness tracking market rapidly expands along with the unstoppable rise of social media, it’s important to include social connectivity within your fitness tracker app.
You can create an inclusive community around your app by allowing users to share their achievements with friends and family. You can even incentivize users to do better by offering rewards for achieving milestones. For example, if a user completes a 5-km run, they could receive a discount voucher from a local sports store or gym partner.
4. Smart notifications
Another key feature of a successful fitness tracker app is smart notifications. By providing your users with timely reminders, you can ensure that they never miss out on important information, including workout tips, calorie burn estimates, and other relevant data.
These notifications can also be used to send motivational messages to your users. For example, you might want to remind them to drink enough water during long runs.
5. Customization options
Customization plays a significant role in the fitness tracking industry. According to Statista, over 50,000 healthcare apps are available on Google Play Store alone, with home workout apps leading the list. Each one offers its value propositions and unique selling points to users.
With these thousands of competitors in the market, you don’t want to be just another face in the crowd. As such, your fitness tracker app should offer customization options. Users can choose which types of workouts they’d like to track and how frequently they’d like to receive updates.
6. Data visualizations
Lastly, you’ll want to offer your users the option to visualize their data. This way, they can easily understand their performance and identify trends. You can accomplish this by using charts and graphs to show your users how much they’ve improved over time. In addition, you can also provide them with an overview of their daily activities, so they can see where they need to improve.
Final thoughts
To build a successful health and wellness app, consider incorporating all six features mentioned above. They’ll help you stand out from the crowd and keep your users coming back for more.
