Roughly 1 in 10 Americans own an activity or sleep tracker. But do older consumers see these devices as valuable in their quest to improve their health and manage chronic conditions? AARP’s Project Catalyst and the Georgia Technology Research Institute’s HomeLab examined this question – and the market opportunity – by conducting a real-world study. Participants 50-plus used these devices in their daily activities for six weeks and shared their experiences, observations, frustrations and recommendations for product improvements.

1. BUILDING A BETTER TRACKER:
Older Consumers Weigh In On
Activity And Sleep Monitoring Devices

2. 2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

3. 3
Trackers showed promise for improving overall health with
older consumers but presented some usability issues.
77%
reported activity
and sleep trackers
to be useful
45%
said they were more
motivated toward
healthy habits.
46%
said they were
more active, slept
better or ate more
healthfully
What did participants enjoy most
• Learning their daily activity and sleep patterns
• Receiving motivation by seeing progress made
• toward a goal
• Having their current activity levels confirmed
• Finding the device to be easy to use

4. 4
Only 42 % planned to continue to use such a device in the future
47%
had an issue
with syncing the
device
89%
had difficulty in
device set-up
process.
39%
had some difficulty
finding
the instructions
The top 4 frustration were
• Perceived inaccuracies in the data reported by the devices
• Challenges in finding and using the instructions
• Perceived device malfunctions, especially related to
syncing
• Difficulty putting on and wearing the device, as well as
discomfort

5. 5
ABOUT THE STUDY
AND METHODOLOGY

6. 6
THE ACTIVITY AND SLEEP TRACKERS USED IN THIS STUDY

7. 7

8. 8
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

9. 9
Perceivedvalue of trackers went up after 6-weeks; however actual experiences
with the devices did not deliver on expectations.
77%
viewed activity and sleep
trackers to be useful
42%
planned to continue to use
such a device in the future

10. 10
THE USER EXPERIENCE HONEYCOMB

11. 11
SEFULLNESSU Does the tracker fulfill a need? Is it useful?
71%
reported increased
awareness
of activity, sleep or
eating habits
45%
reported increased
motivated
46%
said they
changed their
behavior
Trackers increased awareness, motivation and behaviors
WHYDO OLDER
CONSUMERS
EXERCISE?
RANKINGS FROM 1 to 5
not at all true for
me (0)
Very true for
me (5)
3.4
3.5
3.7
3.9
4.1
Weight Management
Strength Endurance
Nimbleness
Ill-health Avoidances
Positive Health

12. 12
SABILITY Is the tracker easy to set up and use?
47%
had an issue with syncing the
device – 16% during set-up &
34% while using the device
89%
had difficultyin
device set-up
process
U

13. 13
REDIBLEC Do users trust the device and believe the data?
55%
did not trust the accuracy of the data the tracker
reported & wanted to better understand how it was
collected
Perceived data accuracy was very important.
,,
,,
I don’t know if you
have to move your
arms, move your hips.
I don’t know how it
registers movement.
,,
,,
It seemed very
inconsistent in
collecting data.

14. 14
INDABILITY Is the content easy to locate and navigate?
29%
Of the time participants
searched for paper instructions
first, overlooked “hidden
compartments”within the
packaging & sometimes never
found instructions on their own.
39%
had some
difficulty finding
the instructions
F
Findability a source of friction
• Hard to find instruction manuals
• Insufficient Instructions on how to operate features
• Often directed to website or app for detailed instruction manual
• Trouble finding information about how the tracker collected data
• App navigation often lacked guidance

15. 15
ESIRABILITYD
Do users appreciate the tracker and consider it
fun and engaging?
Comfort
mattered
Mean ratings for putting on and wearing devices
between “moderately easy” or “easy”.
Areas of discomfort were band inflexibility, incorrect
band size and clasps on wrist-worn trackers, skin
irritation and wardrobe constrictions.
Style
mattered
Some wanted colorful devices
while others preferred their trackers to be
inconspicuous – but style was important
Engagement
Alerts & notifications provided welcome insights or
encouragement and that being able to see progress
toward health goals generated additional
awareness. Display was important.

16. 16
CCESIBILITYA Are the device and data easily accessible for
users with physical limitations?
82%
Reported using the
hardware controls to be
“easy” or “extremely
easy”
78%
found the font size of the
instruction manual was
too small
Small pieces caused problems. Participants had difficultyfastening
clasps on wrist-worn devices and manipulatingsmall pieces during
assembly.
Instructions and displays were tough to see and understand: Font
size, presentation of unfamiliar icons and words and symbols on small
screens, often with low contrast, also presented problems.

17. 17
NEXT STEPS
FOR INNOVATION

18. 18
What did participants enjoy most about using the trackers?
The top four things were:
• Learning their daily activity and sleep patterns
• Receiving motivation by seeing progress made
• toward a goal
• Having their current activity levels confirmed
• Finding the device to be easy to use
The top frustration included:
• Perceivedinaccuracies in the data reported by
the devices
• Challenges in finding and using the instructions
• Perceiveddevice malfunctions, especially
related to syncing
• Difficulty putting on and wearing the device, as
well as discomfort
,,
,,
I enjoyed
using it when
I didn’t get so
frustrated by
its inability
to work

19. 19

20. PROGRAM BACKGROUND

21. 21

22. 22
This research was made possible through generous
support from the founding members of project catalyst.
CONTACT:
Sanjay Khurana
sskhurana@aarp.org
aarp.org/projectcatalyst

23. 23
Download full report at
http://goo.gl/iP6WER