Why Customer Experience Matters For Health, Wellness & Fitness Brands

Wish you had a little boost to lift a little heavier or run a little longer? Having that extra support with a supplement may be the key ingredient in helping you beat your personal best. That’s exactly why the global Health, Wellness, & Fitness market has reached $4.4 trillion (USD).

But as the industry booms and competition gets intense, the customer experiences your brand provides needs to be exceptional. Many make the mistake of rushing their digital customer experience strategy in a sprint to acquire sales. Instead, it needs to be carefully curated to help your brand run the marathon of growing customer loyalty and building your brand.

Whether you’re an eCommerce, DTC, or Retail player, your CX needs to “be a picture of health”. Getting this right essentially helps you to gain consumer confidence and stay at the top of customer minds as they prioritize their well-being.

It’s why we’re hosting our webinar featuring Forrester and our client Lloyds Pharmacy to help brands like yours get their CX strategy right!

THE HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND FITNESS MARKET IS RISING

The world has increasingly become aware of the importance of good physical and mental health. Simultaneously, the demand for Health, Wellness, and Fitness products & services has also considerably risen. In fact, it’s now seen as an essential spend, as 80% said they intend to maintain or increase their spend in categories related to health and fitness. These have developed the market into different segments:

• Wellness
• Beauty and anti-aging
• Fitness
• Mind-body
• Healthy eating
• Weight management
• Supplements

Personal wellness has become a top priority in our daily lives. McKinsey found in a study that 79% respondents believe wellness is important, and 42% consider it as a top priority. This has led to heightened sales of supplements, vitamins, and other health-related products, leading to heightened competition and expectations in today’s digital age.

Consumers searching for “weight loss” products and services has peaked in May 2020.

THE COVID-19 “BOOST”

Online channels are now a primary touchpoint in the customer journey. After brick-and-mortar stores were forced to close or operate at reduced capacity, the customer shift towards eCommerce became critical when purchasing health and wellness products. This hybrid approach had services such as consulting with a health professional digitized in conjunction to this.

Fast forward to today, people are constantly researching online to educate themselves and find ways to boost their health and fitness. 44% have said they actively look for products and services that can help them live a healthier lifestyle. This has contributed to a boost in online traffic for brands to capitalize on.

As brands are following customers, the move to more digitally based services has forced older generations to adapt to the digital evolution of health and wellness.

• Baby Boomers faced the biggest change as technology and computers were relatively new to this age group. While it was initially thought to be slower progress in adoption, this generation has embraced new technology more.
• Millennials who grew up with tablets and smartphones are strong users of digital platforms with 93% owning a smartphone, compared to just 68% of Baby Boomers.
• Gen Xers fall just behind millennials at 90%.

The “domino effect” of increased device usage has increased the demand of products and services online, adding pressure on businesses in meeting this demand. Apps have also become pivotal for customers looking to adopt a better routine/lifestyle. Mental health & wellness, fitness, and even nutrition apps have seen a bolster in downloads.

Alongside this, there are higher sales across various product categories, such as products like vitamins and supplements in the wellness space, and a rise in demand for at-home wellness solutions such as home gym equipment, yoga mats, and other fitness products/services has also been seen.

Some emerging trends include workplace wellness, wearable fitness technology, and mindfulness and meditation. Interactive and virtual fitness applications are also being used in conjunction with gyms, as these brick-and-mortar businesses and online exercise classes were the 9th biggest fitness trend of 2022.

With consumer expectations so high, brands need to go the extra mile to adapt and provide an exceptional customer experience across the purchasing journey in this competitive industry.

LEARN HOW TO BOOST YOUR ECOMMERCE

Together with Lloyds Pharmacy and Forrester, we discussed the trends and opportunities that will shape the health, wellness, and fitness market in 2023, while sharing successful strategies & tactics to help you stand out, including:

• eCommerce trends and predictions in 2023
• Why leveraging digital channels to help consumers change their behaviour should be a must-do
• Brand Success Story: How Lloyds Pharmacy accelerated its eCommerce business over the last two years
• Why insights need to be at the core of your Martech to succeed in this market
• Whether you’re an eCommerce, DTC, or Omnichannel Retailer in the Health, Wellness and Fitness industry, this webinar is for you!

Watch the webinar below!