Much of the excitement at the recent CES gadget show in Las Vegas centred on wearable technology. While Apple’s iWatch still seems to be in the development stage, other innovative companies are tapping into a movement called ‘quantified self’. This is where individuals use technology to track key aspects of their lives such as activity levels and diet.

Companies such as Fitbit have seen the potential of this movement, creating a series of products for the health conscious. These range from wristbands that measure the number of steps you walk and how much sleep you get to Wi-Fi-enabled smart scales that can calculate your BMI. The data from these devices automatically synchronises to your own personal online dashboard, allowing you to keep track of key fitness and wellbeing indicators over time.

All this technology does not come cheap, but the likes of Fitbit are also developing subscription revenue by providing premium versions of their health tracking software, with advanced features such as the ability to create personalised training regimes. These personalised dashboards have potential to become lucrative and powerful influencers over purchasing behaviour, particularly when it comes to diet.

“Companies are tapping into a movement called ‘quantified self’”

Imagine a digital health service that not only tracks how much exercise you need to do to hit your ideal weight, but which then automatically creates a calorie-controlled diet for your next weekly shop. In the US, Fitbit has already created a database of nutritional information for an array of supermarket and popular restaurant products. Linking this data to your online supermarket shopping list is a logical next step.

The interesting question is whether the providers of these services will act as benign facilitators or commercially minded gatekeepers who use product features and apps to push subscribers to selected retail partners and brands. My bet is anything that makes staying healthier easier will have popular appeal, even if it means paying a premium.

These services are growing in popularity among fitness fanatics, a lucrative niche market, but mega-brands such as Nike and O2 are rapidly pushing digital health into the mainstream. As ever, there is a real opportunity for forward-thinking food and drink brands and retailers to start talking to their customers and exploring commercial partnerships with technology providers.

The irony is that for all the hype surrounding the power of ‘big data’ to drive commercial decisions, it could actually be ‘personal data’ held at individual level that emerges as one of the key drivers behind what we put in our shopping baskets.

Daljit Bhurji is MD of integrated social media consultancy Diffusion

Topics