BUILDING A BETTER TRACKER: Older Consumers Weigh In On

Activity And Sleep Monitoring Devices

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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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

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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

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ABOUT THE STUDY

AND METHODOLOGY

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THE ACTIVITY AND SLEEP TRACKERS USED IN THIS STUDY

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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

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Perceived value 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

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THE USER EXPERIENCE HONEYCOMB

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SEFULL NESS U 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

WHY DO 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

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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 difficulty in

device set-up

process

U

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REDIBLE C 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.

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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

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ESIRABILITY D 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.

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CCESIBILITY A 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 difficulty fastening

clasps on wrist-worn devices and manipulating small 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.

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NEXT STEPS

FOR INNOVATION

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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: • 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

,, ,,

I enjoyed

using it when

I didn’t get so

frustrated by

its inability

to work

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PROGRAM BACKGROUND

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This research was made possible through generous

support from the founding members of project catalyst.

CONTACT:

Sanjay Khurana

sskhurana@aarp.org

aarp.org/projectcatalyst

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Download full report at

http://goo.gl/iP6WER