However, Target has said it will design programs around the use of the Fitbits, the first of which will be a monthlong competition in which teams of Fitbit users will track their activity levels, with the winners naming a charity that will receive a $1 million donation from the retailer. Patel said companies like Target can improve the level of adoption and continued use of activity trackers by designing programs that encourage both, and not just by assuming that people will utilize the devices to their advantage.ĬNBC reached out to both Target and Fitbit for comment, but had not yet received a response. "Those little extra steps really end up to be high hurdles." "They need to be charged up, synched up" to share their data about a user's activity level, he said. Patel told CNBC that one hurdle to widespread continued use among workers is presented by the devices themselves. adults who had bought a wearable device, more than half stopped using it, and one-third of respondents said they ceased using the trackers before six months had elapsed.Įarlier this year, The Associated Press reported, the health-care investment fund Rock Health said that Fitbit's own financial filings suggest that out of almost 20 million registered users of the device, just half were still actively using it. One study, by Endeavour Partners, found that among more than 6,200 U.S.
Because Target's offer is not mandatory, some-or many-workers may not accept the Fitbits.Īnd there is no guarantee that the workers who do accept the Fitbits will keep using them.