N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 2
Connected Wellness:
Tracking The Rise Of
Health-Tracking Technology,
a PYMNTS report with
research sponsored by
CareCredit, examines how
payments experiences
impact consumers’ medical
choices and their loyalty to
healthcare providers.
T R A C K I N G T H E R I S E O F
H E A L T H -T R A C K I N G T E C H N O L O G Y
Connected
Wellness:
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Key Findings
PA G E 04
Introduction
PA G E 02
Conclusion
PA G E 18
Methodology
PA G E 20
Connected Wellness: Tracking The Rise Of Health-Tracking Technology
was produced with support provided by CareCredit, and PYMNTS is
grateful for the company’s support and insight. PYMNTS retains full
editorial control over the following findings, methodology and data
analysis.
A C K N O W L E D G M E N T
Table
Of
Contents
02 04
18 20
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Connected Wellness: Tracking The Rise Of Health-Tracking Technology
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© 2022 PYMNTS All Rights Reserved
Wearable devices such as the Fitbit Versa and Apple Watch have be-
come a cornerstone of the United States healthcare landscape. In
the U.S., 107.8 million consumers use wearables to keep tabs on their
health, and their numbers are growing — especially among millenni-
als, Generation Z and consumers living in urban areas.
These numbers indicate that wearables and other health-tracking
technologies will grow more central to U.S. consumers’ lives. The
only question is, which ones will deliver the level of experience these
health-conscious users demand?
In Connected Wellness: Tracking The Rise Of Health-Tracking
Technology, a collaboration with CareCredit, PYMNTS goes back to
the field to survey a census-balanced panel of 2,668 consumers
about how they use the internet and connected devices to take their
health into their own hands — and why they choose one wearable
over another.
This is what we learned.
Connected
Wel ness:
T R A C K I N G T H E R I S E O F H E A LT H –
T R A C K I N G T E C H N O L O G Y
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Connected Wellness: Tracking The Rise Of Health-Tracking Technology
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© 2022 PYMNTS All Rights Reserved
HALF OF U.S.
CONSUMERS NOW USE
WEARABLES OR APPS
TO MONITOR THEIR
HEALTH.
Across the country, 96.5 million con-
sumers used a device, app or website to
track their health or vitals at least once
in October 2022, and more are beginning
to try such devices every day. The use of
health-tracking technologies has grown
by 21%, a projected 21 million more U.S.
consumers, since November 2021.
This usage makes health-tracking tech-
nology the single most used connected
health technology in the U.S. Roughly
one-third of consumers used other con-
nected health technologies last month,
including telemedicine appointment por-
tals and social exercise.
Source: PYMNTS
Proprietary research
N varies based on month; N = 2,668: Complete responses in
October 2022, fielded Oct. 10, 2022 – Oct. 18, 2022
FIGURE 1:
Adoption of health-monitoring technologies
Share of consumers using health-monitoring technologies, by date
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Connected Wellness: Tracking The Rise Of Health-Tracking Technology
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© 2022 PYMNTS All Rights Reserved
Gen Z was the most likely to track and manage their health data
via app or site, with 62% of these consumers doing so. Just 34% of
Generation X consumers and 12% of baby boomers and seniors used
apps and sites to track their health indicators.
Wearable devices are also rapidly gaining popularity, with smart-
watch ownership growing the fastest. One in every three adults
reported owning a smartwatch in October 2022 — 38% more than in
January 2021.
Wearables are especially popular among millennials: 63% used at
least one in October. Just 40% of Gen X consumers and 18% of baby
boomers and seniors used wearables in October.
FIGURE 2:
Usage of health-monitoring technologies by generation
Share of consumers in each demographic group who use select health monitoring technologies
Source: PYMNTS
Proprietary research
N = 2,668: Complete responses, fielded Oct. 10, 2022 – Oct. 18, 2022
37.3%
61.8%
58.3%
53.6%
33.9%
12.4%
41.7%
59.1%
63.3%
59.8%
39.5%
18.3%
Use a website or app to
monitor or track health
Use wearable technology to
monitor or track health
Sampl
e
Generatio
n
0%
20%
40%
60%
0%
20%
40%
60%
Sample
Generation Z
Millennials
Bridge millennials
Generation X
Baby boomers and seniors
Adoption of health-monitoring technologies, by demographics
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Connected Wellness: Tracking The Rise Of Health-Tracking Technology
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© 2022 PYMNTS All Rights Reserved
T H E M O S T P O P U L A R
H E A LT H -T R A C K I N G A P P S
I N T H E U.S .
Consumers downloaded the top health-
tracking apps in the U.S. a collective 53
million times in the last year. Among
the 10 most downloaded apps, MyChart
was the leader, with 10.6 million down-
loads between Q4 2021 and Q3 2022.
The third-most downloaded app was Flo
Period Tracker & Calendar, which consum-
ers downloaded 8 million times in that
same time frame.1
4.5
4.3
5.7
4.8
6.4
4.7
6.6
8.2
5.8
8.0
6.4
8.6
10.6
11.8
26.8
41.8
53.2
0
20
40
Q1 2022
Q2 2022
Q3 2022
Q4 2022
MyChart
MyFitnessPal: Calorie Counter
iHealth COVID-19 Test
Flo Period Tracker & Calendar
Finch: Self Care Widget Pet
ShutEye: Sleep Tracker
Fabulous: Daily Habit Tracker
Blood Pressure App
Google Fit: Activity Tracker
FollowMyHealth®
Most downloaded health tracking apps in the USA
Source: Author unknown
Current App Usage Statistics. Apptopia. 2022.
1 Author unknown. Current App Usage Statistics. Apptopia. 2022.
https://apptopia.com/. Accessed November 2022.
FIGURE 3:
Most downloaded health-tracking apps in the U.S.
Number of year-to-date Apple App Store and Google Play Store downloads
for top 10 health-tracking apps
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Connected Wellness: Tracking The Rise Of Health-Tracking Technology
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© 2022 PYMNTS All Rights Reserved
THERE IS A DIGITAL DIVIDE
IN HEALTH AND WELLNESS
TRACKING: TWICE AS MANY
AFFLUENT CONSUMERS USE
WEARABLES OR APPS THAN
LOWER-INCOME CONSUMERS.
Consumers in urban areas are nearly twice as
likely as those living in rural areas to have used
health-tracking devices, apps or sites in the month
preceding the survey. In total, 63% of urban consum-
ers used a health-tracking device or app, and 32% of
rural consumers did the same.
Location is not the only factor determining consum-
ers’ appetite for health-tracking technology. Income
also plays a key role. High-income consumers are
nearly twice as likely to use these technologies than
low-income consumers, with 63% of high-income
consumers adopting these technologies in October,
far ahead of their low-income counterparts, of which
34% use them.
Both of these divides — across geographic locations and income brackets — are grow-
ing with time. Urban and high-income consumers’ use of wearables, sites or apps to
track health data has increased by 31% since November 2021, but use among rural and
low-income consumers has remained largely unchanged throughout the year.
FIGURE 4:
Evolution of health-monitoring technology
Share of consumers using at least one health-monitoring
technology over time, by demographic
Source: PYMNTS
Proprietary research
N varies based on month; N = 2,668: Complete responses
in October 2022, fielded Oct. 10, 2022 – Oct. 18, 2022
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© 2022 PYMNTS All Rights Reserved
EVEN AMONG THE MOST
ENTHUSIASTIC ADOPTERS,
FEW CONSUMERS USE
HEALTH-RELATED
TECHNOLOGIES IN THEIR
DAILY ROUTINES.
Although the number of consumers using health-
tracking sites and devices is growing, their use of those
technologies remains sporadic. Just 18% of all con-
sumers use wearable technology daily, and just 14%
use health-tracking apps and sites daily. Among people
who use smartwatches, 61% of them use them week-
ly or monthly. Among those who use health-tracking
apps, 57% cite weekly or monthly usage.
This usage is very much at odds with how the com-
panies selling these technologies intend consumers to
use them. Companies designed these wearables and
other health-tracking technologies for consumers to
use every day, but just a handful of consumers use
them more than once per week.
FIGURE 5:
Changes in the frequency of use of health-monitoring technologies
Share of consumers who used a health-monitoring technology, by frequency of interaction and date
Source: PYMNTS
Proprietary research
N varies based on month; N = 2,668: Complete responses
in October 2022, fielded Oct. 10, 2022 – Oct. 18, 2022
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© 2022 PYMNTS All Rights Reserved
THE APPLE WATCH IS THE
MOST POPULAR WEARABLE
TECHNOLOGY IN THE U.S.,
AND ITS COMMAND OVER THE
MARKET IS GROWING.
Apple reported shipping 137 million Apple Watches
worldwide in 2021, well above the 92 million registered
in 20192 — and our research shows that their popularity
is still growing. Nineteen percent of the adult popula-
tion, a projected 49.6 million people, owned an Apple
Watch in October 2022, compared to 13% in November
2021 — far and away more than any other wearable
technology. The next-most common wearable is a
Fitbit, which 14% of consumers in the U.S. own.
FIGURE 6:
Top four wearable tech brands
Share of consumers who reported owning selected brands of health-monitoring wearables, by date
Source: PYMNTS
Proprietary research
N varies based on month; N = 2,668: Complete responses
in October 2022, fielded Oct. 10, 2022 – Oct. 18, 2022
2 Lim, S. Smartwatch Market Grows 24% YoY in 2021, Records Highest Ever Quarterly Shipments in Q4.
Counterpoint. 2022. Accessed
November 2022.
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© 2022 PYMNTS All Rights Reserved
The consumers who own Apple Watches
appear to be using them partly because
they connect to their other Apple devic-
es. Thirty-eight percent of Apple-branded
smartwatch owners also use an iPhone,
compared to just 7.4% who use Android
phones. Similarly, the consumers who own
Samsung watches tend not to own iPhones.
This suggests that many consumers choose
wearable technologies that are designed to
function alongside compatible devices.
Source: PYMNTS
Proprietary research
N varies based on month; N = 2,668: Complete responses
in October 2022, fielded Oct. 10, 2022 – Oct. 18, 2022
FIGURE 7:
Evolution of usage of wearable brands
Share of consumers who report owning select brands of health-monitoring wearables, by date and type
of smartphone
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© 2022 PYMNTS All Rights Reserved
Conclusion
Consumers across the U.S. — especially the young and the
urban — are turning to health-tracking apps and wearables
to take their health into their own hands. This underscores a
growing opportunity for businesses and innovators to capture
these health-conscious consumers’ business — if they can de-
liver a digitally integrated, seamless user experience to win
out the competition.
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© 2022 PYMNTS All Rights Reserved
Methodology
For Connected Wellness: Tracking The Rise Of Health-Tracking
Technology, a PYMNTS and CareCredit collaboration, we
surveyed 2,668 consumers from Oct. 10 to Oct. 18 to learn
about how patients pay for healthcare. Respondents were
48 years old on average, 51% were female and 32% held
college degrees. We also collected data from consumers in
different income brackets: 36% of respondents earned more
than $100,000 annually; 30% earned between $50,000 and
$100,000; and 33% earned less than $50,000.
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© 2022 PYMNTS All Rights Reserved
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