ARC 360 Health Report: First-Ever Analysis of the U.S. Health & Fitness App Economy

Applause, an application testing company, offers services such as “360º App Quality.” Recently, the company commissioned a dedicated team to produce this “ARC 360 Report,” which focuses on analyzing the current state of the U.S. health and fitness app economy. The report aims to help popular U.S. health, fitness, and medical brands—as well as their competitors—understand customers’ firsthand perceptions of their app product quality, thereby enabling rapid enhancement of the mobile user experience.

The Health, Fitness, and Medical App Economy
39 health and fitness apps and 28 medical apps met the qualifying criteria in the initial version of the Applause Health and Fitness App Quality Index. The average quality scores for health and fitness apps and medical apps showed striking similarity (see Figure 1).

Definition of the APP Quality Scale
Applause measures the sentiment index of Android and iOS users regarding app quality, and categorizes app quality into the following levels based on user ratings: Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding. For each category, the quality score ranges for Health & Fitness and Medical apps are as follows:

■ Poor: 0–39 (Apps that disappoint users)
■ General: 40–59 (Apps with clear service objectives that remain tolerable to users)
■ Good: 60–69 (apps favored by users)
■ Excellent: 70–89 (User-Favorite Apps)
■ Winner: 90–100 (Apps that win users’ applause)

Good and Bad Apps (Fortunately, None Are Ugly)
User ratings for certain health, fitness, and medical apps are striking, with both positive and negative reasons (see Figure 2). The highest-quality and below-average health and fitness apps, as determined by user ratings, include:
■ Four Highly Popular, Elite-Quality Apps:MyFitnessPal’s Calorie Counter [Android | iOS], FitNow’s Lose It! [Android | iOS], MapMyFitness’s MapMyRun [Android | iOS], and FitnessKeeper’s RunKeeper [Android | iOS]. These apps all have more than 50,000 user reviews, and their average quality scores derived from testing exceeded 70 points.

■ Three Android apps with over 20,000 user reviews and quality scores above 80:ABISHKKING's Period Calendar / Tracker [Android Version], GP Apps' Period Tracker [Android Version], and MyFitnessPal's Calorie Counter [Android Version].

■ Five iOS apps with over 20,000 user reviews and a quality score above 80:MyFitnessPal’s Calorie Counter [iOS version], FitNow’s Lose It! [iOS version], Northcube AB’s Sleep Cycle Alarm [iOS version], MapMyFitness’s MapMyRun [iOS version], and MapMyWalk [iOS version], also from MapMyFitness.

■ Two popular apps that rank only in the middle in quality ratings and require significant improvement:Weight Watchers Mobile (Android | iOS) and Fitbit (Android | iOS). These two brands have achieved an average app quality score of 54 out of over 20,000 user reviews each (the category average is 66.7). Given their large user bases, both companies can capture new market share and mind share by further refining their apps. If they can enhance app quality to move beyond mere “functionality” and deliver a seamless, reliable, and intuitive user experience, they stand to make significant strides. As the number of disruptors in this space grows—particularly those that combine elegance with stability—users’ psychological expectations for products from established companies will be higher than those for startups.

Recommendations

The Path to Success for Apps Among Users

Every health, fitness, and medical brand app listed in the Applause Internet App Quality Scorecard is progressing along its own path toward becoming a successful internet application. However, whether these apps can secure a place in users’ minds, how quickly they can achieve this goal, and whether they can maintain their position over time ultimately depend on their rankings within the aforementioned Internet App Quality Scorecard.

■ Rated as “Poor”Health and fitness apps need to fundamentally refocus their priorities, concentrating on delivering services to users on the go. These apps must be capable of serving any user, at any time, across any operating system, network, and location.

■ Rated as "Average"Health and fitness apps need to expand their testing scope beyond the laboratory and into the real world. A successful internet app requires additional testing that allows users to interact naturally with the online experience.

■ Rated as "Good"Health and fitness apps should expand the scope of their testing efforts. Today’s user expectations are incredibly high; for users, it is no longer sufficient for an app to be merely “functional.” Apps must be intuitive, offer rock-solid stability, deliver fast performance, excel under pressure, and ensure the security and privacy of customer information. An app that has passed localization, privacy, and security testing can be elevated to the category of excellence.

■ Rated “Excellent”Health and fitness apps should involve users in testing new versions as early as possible to address issues before they are discovered by the public, thereby reducing future testing efforts devoted to urgent matters. For instance, most health, fitness, and medical apps generally lack elegance, security, and stability, as reflected in quality scorecards (particularly when compared with satisfaction, ease of use, content, interactivity, performance, privacy, and pricing).

■ Rated as “Superior”Health and fitness apps must continuously monitor user feedback to drive ongoing improvements in line with evolving times. Ratings and reviews left by users on app stores provide the clearest and most direct feedback on the app product; those who take the time to share their opinions are the app’s most engaged fans and critics.