The Categorization of Consumer Health and Wellness Segments

The Hartman Group’s World model has undertaken the task of categorizing consumer health and wellness segments. While it is known that consumers live, think and shop differently, depending upon where they have placed themselves in the health and wellness vertical, the Hartman Report entitled “Health + Wellness: A Culture of Wellness” offers details that may offer a guide for both the consumer and manufacturers.

The report is indicative of the manner that consumers differ from each other but can also be used as a model or list for the cultural change and the adoption and emergence of the increased trends towards health and wellness.

The “Core” consumers include 13% of adults, the smallest group. These are people that adopt early, are ‘evangelists’ as well as trendsetters. They are proactive in their approach and include mindfulness in body, mind and soul. They support sustainability, privilege, knowledge and quality and are often used as the source as they make specific selections for retail, health sites and decisions on wellness.

The “Inner” and “Outer” group are 62% of adults and represent the mid-level of consumers. They do not experience the intensity of commitment as the core consumer group, but are essential to the trend success in their translating, selecting, and the adoption of new ideas launched from the ‘core’. Those that are most involved have a discerning eye for authenticity and base their purchasing decisions in a knowledge bank. Those that have less involvement rely on the experts to assist in guidance.

The ‘Periphery Consumers’ make up about 25%, as identified by the Hartman Group and they comprehend that they should exercise and eat right, even if they don’t comply with these actions. Their goal is happiness rather than just the freedom from being ill. In this case, they will turn to the brands that they perceive for consistency and quality and may accept the alteration of convenience and price as a priority above those consumers in the mid-level or core groups.

The Hartman Group did note that there is a shift in today’s segments as they broaden, personalize and become more proactive in their wellness perspective. The Hartman Group included as part of their executive summary of the report:   "Over the past decade, we have observed a shift away from a perfunctory, ascetic, reactive and compliant notion of wellness to one that is more experiential, positive, holistic, proactive and self-assessed. There has been a cultural shift — now complete for all intents and purposes — from 'health' to 'quality of life;' from reactive health to proactive wellness."