Fitbit Inc. (NYSE:FIT), a leader in the connected health and fitness market, formed deals with New York Life, Pitney Bowes, SAP, Sharp Healthcare and others that will offer Fitbit activity trackers and programs to employees across a variety of industries.
This alignment comes as Fitbit continues to build out its corporate wellness programs that prioritize increasing employee engagement, improving health outcomes and lowering healthcare costs.
Data from ABI Research suggests that corporate wellness programs that include wearable devices increase participation from an average of 20 percent without wearables to 60 percent or higher with wearables, with some employers reporting participation rates above 90 percent. According to a 2016 report by IBISWorld, companies are seeking partners that can keep up with the latest trends in software and technology.
“Employers continue to look to consumer-oriented technology and services to develop wellness programs that can empower people to take charge of their health and fitness,” said Amy McDonough, vice president and general manager, Fitbit Group Health. “Fitbit’s corporate wellness offering is built around the understanding that better, people-oriented technology enables stronger results using wearable devices that consumers love.”
Companies including Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC), New York Life, Pitney Bowes, SAP, Sharp Healthcare and Teach for America will now be working with Fitbit Group Health to develop programs tailored to the needs of their unique employee populations.
“With a large workforce across a variety of job functions and locations we needed a wellness solution that would be effective for a diverse population,” said Megan Spurling, manager of employee wellness, Sharp Healthcare. “The engagement of the Fitbit brand across consumers was a big factor in selecting Fitbit as our wellness partner to help ensure greater success of our initiatives in this area.”
Photo courtesy Fitbit
