What’s Behind the Dramatic Growth of Women’s Health and Wellness

The women’s health app market is growing by 19.6% YOY and will expand from $4 billion in 2023 to more than $13 billion in 2030. North America currently leads the market with a 39% share.

What’s behind the growth? Quite simply, women are taking more control over their health without the aid of a doctor. It starts with owning their own data. Previously overlooked by the medical system, women now use self-tracking and data from their wearables to document their experiences and advocate for their own health. So when they do go to the doctor, they are armed with personalized data for a more informed discussion.

The technology that allows this kind of self-tracking is called ‘Femtech’, and it is a category of apps and platforms that cover maternal health, menstrual health, pelvic and sexual health, fertility, menopause and contraception, as well as other general health conditions that affect women. Investment in Femtech has increased 1,000% since first emerging between 2016-2022, and is expected to be worth $1 trillion by 2027. 

One example of these wearables is whoop. In a category of look-alikes, whoop required a clear differentiator. Mekanism, an agency in the Plus Company network, found a way to lift WHOOP’s brand identity out of the messy middle, shine a light on its key differences, increase its perceived value and help it dramatically surpass all its performance goals. You can read more on Mekanism’s work on whoop here.

Other apps that track a woman’s menstrual cycle such as Clue and Luna to apps like Emjoy and Lover which are designed to help you rediscover your libido. 

Why are so many women taking control of their health and wellness? Because they feel discriminated against in medical settings. A recent study published in the New York Times showed that female patients, particularly women of colour, are more likely to have their symptoms dismissed by medical providers. One in five (21%) of Black women say they have been treated unfairly by a health care provider for racial reasons. In Canada, 10 million women over 40 feel their menopause symptoms are dismissed or trivialized when they visit the doctor.

It's no wonder they are turning to self-diagnosis.

There are also a number of conditions that disproportionately affect women but which lack mainstream awareness. In this instance, online and social forums play a vital role. For example, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects 1 out of 10 women and 30% rely on online forums for information. 

Even though heart disease is the #1 killer of women in the United States, 89% of women are unaware that each lifestage comes with unique risk factors for heart disease and stroke. Heart attacks present differently in women, but the symptoms people are told to watch out for mainly affect men. Women are more likely to have heart attack symptoms unrelated to chest pain.

In response to these knowledge gaps, media companies are starting to create content for specific conditions. For example, Self, from Conde Nast Health, offers a range of content from autoimmune disease to hypertension. Gen Z and Millennials are flocking to these sites to discuss symptoms related to gynecological and mental health. 

This has, however, spurred the growth of micro influencers dishing out advice with varying degrees of credibility. A recent study found that fewer than 20% of fitness influencers lack any related qualifications or credentials, making it hard to choose which advice to take. A study of advice on YouTube has raised concern that guidance from social media influencers about contraception can lead to unwanted pregnancies.

Understandably, medical experts are sounding the alarm, warning that some social media health trends are putting lives at risk, like the recent viral trend called the ‘period cancelling craze’ which promotes the use of a combination of jelly powder, lemon juice and ibuprofen to reduce menstrual flow. Or the idea that castor oil can dissolve tumors and fight bacterial infections. The algorithms on TikTok make it difficult for consumers to separate influencers from bona fide clinicians. As a result, there is a growing backlash against fake influencers, who are being called out and shamed. 

In the face of fake credentials and dubious advice, the opportunity is for brands to build trust in this community by partnering with qualified experts in healthcare, fitness and wellness to inform both product and service innovation and create content that is genuinely authoritative.

It all comes down to understanding. 

Whether it is the result of male unconscious bias, women’s lower social status or the long held social taboos associated with sexuality, women’s health has been sidelined for too long. But digital empowerment and access to information is giving women the confidence to take matters into their own hands. And brands are responding.

If you haven’t already read it, download our in-depth report, Gray Hair, Gaslighting and Gadgets: Reclaiming Women’s Health and Wellness in the Digital Age. We dig deeper into these topics with the latest consumer data and offer key recommendations for brands. You can read more here.