The impact of wearables in ‘virtual training’

Challenge

Base PT is a high-tech online personal training company that aims to make personal training accessible for as many people as possible. The company is working to make personal training an accessible support to everyone by advancing the ‘Home-Workout’, combining technology with professional personal training to create a virtual yet bespoke personal training experience in the comfort of customers’ own surroundings.

This project investigated the impact of wearables and their effectiveness at improving individual and team performance in non-competitive sports, with the aim of supporting Base PT to raise investment in this market niche.

Solution

The project team generated a comprehensive report exploring the use of sport wearables amongst fitness enthusiasts. This included:

A review of the literature and the market for wearables;
An online survey and focused interviews with current and potential customers;
Collections and analysis of data to understand how wearable fitness monitors improve people’s performance;
Recommendations on how personal trainers can use these wearable data to help customers maximise their performance.

Impact

This research provided Base PT with a detailed insight into the market of wearable fitness trackers. Analysing how wearable fitness monitors improve sport performance, the research offered clear recommendations on the design and marketing of a wearable device that Base PT could offer to their target audiences.

Research team

Janett Adler – PhD researcher in Graphic Design and Future Technology (Manchester Metropolitan University, School of Art)
Sam Bateman – PhD researcher in Business Administration (University of Manchester, Alliance Business School)
Jon Bebb – PhD researcher in Philososphy (University of Manchester, School of Social Sciences)
Helen Cheng – PhD researcher in Business and Management (University of Manchester, Alliance Business School)
Amy Cortvriend, PhD researcher in Criminology (University of Manchester, School of Social Sciences)

See more on this project

Collaboration Labs Case Study – University of Manchester