3.

0 GENRE OVERVIEW

3.1 Introduction
Since the popularization of the smartphone by Apple in January 2007, fitness and
health-based apps have proliferated. Some users may be new to fitness, and want to
learn how to develop a workout and diet plan, but don’t have the knowledge to
create one from scratch. Others may be seasoned gym veterans who simply do not
have the time to plan daily workouts and meals. Whatever the reason, societal focus
has shifted toward health-centric lifestyles, and people of all levels of fitness
experience are looking to become healthier. Due to the necessity for speed and
convenience in the fast-paced modern world, many have turned to fitness
applications for help on the go. Fitness apps give users a platform to conveniently
learn about health and fitness, log and track workouts and meals, and tailor
workouts and meal plans to fit individual needs, all from the palm of their hand. The
convenience and comprehensive nature of these apps have helped the fitness app
industry expand rapidly over the past decade.

3.2 Fitness Apps Historical Background

3.2.1 Why did Fitness Apps Develop?
In the 1970s and 80s, society became fixated on fitness. Following the release of the
film Pumping Iron starring Arnold Schwarzenegger in 19774, and Jane Fonda’s
exercise videos in 19825, a “fitness culture” developed. These easily accessible,
user-friendly tools to help guide exercise routines were appealing to the average
person, and the United States and Europe entered what has been categorized as the
“first fitness boom.”6 Gyms became widely available to consumers, and were
normalized by the societal shift towards fitness and health. Everybody wanted to
get fit, and the industry expanded rapidly. Companies such as Reebok and Nike took
advantage of the widening consumer base, mass producing active-wear apparel.
Exercise equipment such as the treadmill and stationary bike became in-home
norms.7 Fitness and health continued to grow in popularity in the following
decades, and as society advanced technologically in the 2000s, consumers created
a need in the market for faster and more convenient health and fitness tools.

3.2.2 The Development of Fitness Apps

Fitness apps began to appear after Apple launched the App Store in July of 2008.
One of the first fitness apps to hit the App Store was LoseIt! in 2010.8 Ever since,
developers have rolled out thousands of variations, reaching a total of 320,000 apps
across all major app stores by 2018.9 This new technology drove an era of fitness
that has been coined as the “second fitness boom.”10 The second fitness boom has
been characterized by “the availability and desirable qualities of partaking in online
communities, an emphasis on human-technology interactivity, and customization
in the interest of optimization.”11 Forgoing fitness trends mixed with advancing
technology and the cultural obsession and expectation for speed and convenience
has allowed the health and fitness app industry to prosper.12 In a study of fitness
apps and their effect on students, researchers discovered that due to the popularity
of technology among the younger generations, interactive fitness based apps
extrinsically help motivate them to exercise.13 The ability to interact with a
community of like-minded users, motivate one another, and customize a fitness
and diet plan to fit individual needs has enabled fitness app users to keep up in the
busy, fast-paced world in which we live.

3.3 Popularity of Fitness Apps

Fitness application popularity corresponds directly with the world’s ever-growing
dependence on technology. Obtaining personalized fitness and diet information on
the go is invaluable for students and professionals who have limited flexibility in
their schedules. According to research by Flurry Analytics in 2017, the consumer
base of health and fitness apps grew by 330% between 2015 and 2017.14 Engagement
within the applications is also high, with three quarters of active users opening
their app two times a week. Flurry Analytics’ research shows how important health
and fitness apps are to users, as a fitness routine is often a large part of one’s
lifestyle. Being able to access individualized health, fitness, and diet information at
one’s fingertips helps users meet goals and stay on schedule. Additionally, the study
found that 96% of consumers use only one fitness app.15 Despite app loyalty, users
have reported it being difficult to follow a fitness and diet routine through their app
long-term, which has led to a substantial loss of consumers.16 This was reiterated in
a survey I conducted shown in Figure 3.1, with only 1 of 35 respondents saying that
they have used their fitness app to follow a long-term fitness and diet plan.17
Figure 3.1

The team at SweatUp! believes this problem is due to the fact that some of the most
widely used fitness apps, such as MyFitnessPal by UnderArmour18 and Nike Training
Club,19 do not offer recommended workout and diet plans. These apps allow users
to track and log their workouts and meals, but users must create their own daily
workout and diet plans, which may be time-consuming and confusing for some.
SweatUp! is planning to offer a feature that will provide users with suggested
workout and diet plans based on their stated fitness goals and personal information
entered during account creation. This would help users save time they would have
spent on entering workout and meal information every day, and will teach users
with little fitness and health experience how to build a workout and diet plan of
their own. In addition, our company would benefit due to the increase in long-term
engagement from our users. In a follow up survey I conducted of UCSB students
shown in Figure 3.2, 29% of respondents stated that an app that suggested daily
workout and diet plans would make them more likely to follow a workout and diet
plan long-term.20 Increasing our app’s number of long-term users would help us
maintain a steady stream of revenue and a significant market presence.
Figure 3.2

We will also be offering incentives to further motivate users to follow workout and
diet plans through our app in order to increase long-term engagement. Upon
successful completion of workouts, users will be awarded points. These points can
be exchanged in our in app store for small discounts on workout gear and apparel
from big name brands such as Nike and Lululemon. In a study conducted involving
27 college students, “game-like rewards,” such as the point based system we are
looking to use in our app, had a significant influence on whether or not they would
enjoy using the app.21 We hope that the promise of a small reward for staying
engaged with the app will provide our users with an extra bit of motivation to stick
to their in app workout and diet plans, and follow through with their fitness goals.

3.4 Market Analysis and Economic Forecast

3.4.1 Fitness App Market by the Numbers
As noted, the fitness app market had available a total of 320,000 apps at the end of
2018. Data pulled from Statista.com shows that the fitness and lifestyle genre was
the fourth largest app genre on the Apple App Store in terms of the number of apps
available for download at the end of November 2019. This translated to a market
share of 8.62% in the app store, showcasing statistical evidence of just how popular
fitness and lifestyle applications have become.22
 Figure 3.323

When taking a look at the global market, North America is currently dominating
due to the widespread awareness about physical health and fitness and the
advantages of increased smartphone usage in developed countries.24 The 330%
growth in user base mentioned in the last section has provided the industry with a
broad selection of consumers across the globe. Figure 3.4 below shows the
breakdown of countries with the highest number of fitness app users:

Figure 3.425
Furthermore, we must take a look at the user base for fitness and lifestyle apps.
Data pulled from Statista’s Global Consumer Survey indicates that the highest
percentage of users are between the ages of 25 and 34.26 Users between the ages of
18 and 34 make up 52% of consumers, and users between the age of 18 and 44 make
up 77% of this market.27 The data from this survey indicates that the target audience
for fitness app developers should be young people. This makes sense, since young
people tend to be the most technologically active and savvy user demographic.

Figure 3.528

Consumers across the world are becoming much more technology and community
centric. This has fueled the popularization of fitness and lifestyle applications that
offer an interactive community space for app users. The team at SweatUp! is aiming
to offer an in app community tab for users to interact with fellow SweatUp!
members, and cultivate a positive community dynamic. However, in order to
differentiate ourselves from competitors, we hope to offer a feature that will allow
users to interact directly with other users who workout at the same gym as them.
We believe that this feature will help facilitate more face to face interaction at the
local level, allowing users to find workout partners and create friendships at their
gym. Users can motivate one another and help each other stick to their workout
regimen. In a survey of UCSB students that I conducted, roughly 66% of students
stated that they workout alone. Of those who workout alone, 44% responded that
they would be receptive to the idea of a community app feature that would link
them to other UCSB students to find workout partners.29 Brenda Lear, the Assistant
Director of Fitness and Wellness at the UCSB Department of Recreation, also
expressed great interest in our community idea during my interview with her,
stating, “I do like the idea of creating a fitness hub to find workout partners and
share fitness inquiries if said hub had a team of fitness professionals from the
Department of Recreation moderating the site to be sure we’re sharing thoughtful
and accurate information.”30

3.4.2 Current and Future Economic Outlook

Figure 3.631

Information gathered from the “Global Industry Report” posted to

GrandViewResearch.com shows that in 2018, the global fitness market was valued at
$2.4 billion.32 The industry is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate
(CAGR) of 21.1% through 2026 according to the market report, with the Exercise &
Weight-Loss segment experiencing the highest estimated jump.33 The growth of the
fitness app market within the global market can be attributed to a number of
factors, including, but not limited to, increased incentive to adopt a healthy lifestyle
and large investments in advertising and fitness apps from globally recognized
companies such as Nike. Another significant reason why this industry will continue
to grow is due to the prevalence of social media fitness models and influencers. The
Instagram “explore” page is full of photos of these individuals, many of whom have
amassed hundreds of thousands of followers. Constant exposure to fitness and
visual reminders on social media of how one could potentially look if they adopted a
healthier lifestyle motivates individuals to change their habits, and fitness apps are
a convenient, inexpensive way to get started on the right track. SweatUp! aims to
offer its users a page dedicated to short, instructional workout videos taught by
some of the most popular and highest followed fitness celebrities. We hope to
offset the cost of hiring these celebrities to produce workout videos with the
increase in revenue we expect to see from new users that are drawn to our app due
to the unique inclusion of videos produced by some of their favorite fitness
celebrities. This feature would be included in a monthly subscription package, an
option that is offered by most successful fitness apps in the market. While most
fitness apps are free, many include premium features that run on a subscription
basis. For example, the Nike Training Club app is free to download, but users can
purchase a monthly subscription for $14.99.34 In app subscription services are a
cheaper alternative for someone on the move who doesn’t have the time or
resources to make a full commitment to a gym. Additionally, the subscription
feature provides app developers with an additional opportunity to generate
revenue. Subscription revenue, coupled with ad revenue, has pushed the net worth
of the fitness industry upward, and will continue to do so as the user base of fitness
applications expands annually. In 2018, MyFitnessPal generated $42.3 million in
revenue, demonstrating just how profitable popular fitness apps can be.35 We
believe that our app will be able to capture a large market share because we are
aiming to offer our subscription package at a lower price than our competitors. The
“Health and Fitness App Use in College Students” study found that among survey
participants, app price was a significant factor in determining which fitness app to
use.36 We hope that a lower price will attract a large portion of fitness beginners,
who may not want to spend a lot of money on something they know little about. As
we look toward the future, there is no indication that the fitness boom that
spawned the fitness app industry has peaked, and it shows no outward signs of
slowing down. The fitness obsessed populous will continue to need fitness apps as
they look to meet the needs of their busy, changing lifestyles.

3.5 Conclusion
The team at SweatUp! believe we have put together a solid product that can
compete in the vast fitness app market. Although there is intense competition, we
believe that the features we will provide will help our app not only survive but
thrive in the fitness market. We will be entering the market in a prime position to
capture a large market share because of the projected future growth of the fitness
app industry. Additionally, a rapidly expanding, technology centric user base
focused on leading a healthy lifestyle will provide us with a broad selection of
consumers. The combination of recommended fitness and diet plans, a reward
system for following these plans, a community hub allowing users to find local
workout partners, famous fitness celebrity workout videos, and a cheap
subscription system allowing us undercut the market will help us look more
attractive to potential consumers and differentiate us from the competition. If we
take advantage of the current fitness app market situation and enter now, we
believe that SweatUp! has the tools necessary to thrive and profit in the industry.