Personal health and wellbeing is emerging as one of the standout consumer markets of this century and it’s sucking in new entrants at breakneck speed.
The question is, who will end up dominating this market – if anyone – and where will spa stand in the pecking order?
At the crux of this is the consumers’-eye perspective, because people who care about their health know it’s a round-the-clock commitment, not just something you opt in and out of as you fancy.
People leading a well life care about the entire Circle of Wellbeing – the whole-life picture. They care about their sleep, lifelong learning, the air they breathe, the food they eat, how they work and exercise and relax, how they socialise and spend their free time, how they spend and invest their money, how they live, how they die. All of it.
For them, it’s a total lifestyle choice and the power of this 24/7 dimension, when coupled with the spending habits of this fast-growing global tribe, have begun to catch the eye of an increasing number of major players.
Corporations such as Google, Microsoft, Intel, Apple and Amazon are racing to figure out how they can jump in: the prospect of this deep level of constant contact is alluring to those looking to own the consumer.
They also know this tribe is generally more affluent, educated and aspiring – whatever their background – making the prospect even more compelling.
The arrival of top level businesses like these poses interesting challenges, as well as raising the prospect of opportunity for partnerships and collaborations. Yet if big business wants in, then things will get bloody over the next decade as they battle for position and seek to create global consumer brands around personal wellbeing.
The challenge for the spa industry is that we are – on the whole – only geared up to sell time and experiences and not to engage round-the-clock with consumers.
You could argue other sectors within wellbeing are doing a better job of bonding with the consumer and providing 24/7 support – the health and fitness industry and the healthcare sectors are both making fast progress with the engaging tech they need to be able to do this.
And they’re working with big business to do it, so wearbles are integrating with fitness apps and health and fitness businesses to create joined-up experiences.
It’s time for spa businesses to become global consumer brands and to figure out how to fit in to this bigger picture. Time to move beyond selling time to a point where we can build round-the-clock relationships with customers and major players in the wider wellbeing industry.
This will take investment and ambition, but it’s entirely within our scope. And if we don’t, then there’s a very real danger we’ll see our market taken over by others.
Liz Terry, editorial director @elizterry
