Lose It! Weight Loss App Competative Analysis Report

Lose It! Weight Loss App Competative Analysis Report By Manuel Ryan Espinsa Manuel Ryan Espinosa 3-4-2018 Competative Analysis IN4MATX 283 LEC A

TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION & GOALS DIRECT COMPETITORS INDIRECT COMPETITORS INFLUENCERS FEATURES RECOMMENDATIONS SUMMARY 03 06 08 10 29 Manuel Ryan Espinosa 2-17-2017 Cognitive Walkthrough IN4MATX 283 LEC A: USER EXPERIENCE (37000)

INTRODUCTION Methodology Research Benefits Goal Executive Summary Manuel Ryan Espinosa 3-4-2018 Competative Analysis IN4MATX 283 LEC A: USER EXPERIENCE (37000)

INTRODUCTION HOW COMPETATIVE ANALYSIS WAS UTILIZED TO HELP IMPROVE THE LOSE IT APP. METHODOLOGY Utilizing the concept of competitive analysis will reveal data on the strengths and weaknesses of the current Lose it! app. The competitive analysis will also reveal data on the strengths and weaknesses of FitNow s direct and indirect competitors. The final data revealed to the evaluators from the completed competitive analysis will allow the evaluators to reveal through insights a more complete glimpse of the current marketplace. GOAL The overall goal of conducting a competitive analysis is for the purpose of gaining enough data to reveal insights that will give MyNet a competitive and strategic advantage over MyNet s major direct and indirect competitors. RESEARCH BENEFITS Placing all of the research data gained using competitive analysis into a matrix will allow researchers to reveal data for the Lose it! apps direct and indirect competitors. Competitive analysis will also allow evaluators to utilize insights regarding the details and intricacies of the Lose it! apps overall market in order to implement a strategy that will strengthen the growth and competitiveness of FitNow s position in the weight loss marketplace. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY It will be the job of evaluators to gain valuable insights from the research conducted through competitive analysis for the purpose of revealing data about the direct and indirect competitors. The link below is a direct link to the competitive analysis matrix tool, utilized by MyNet s evaluators for the collection of all direct and indirect competitor data. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1t0g7p-gp0gffgak92ht4byr_hfm_5jsim-0t7wnkzhq/edit?usp=sharing

INTRODUCTION OVERVIEW OF THE LOSE IT! APP. The LOSE IT! APP Value Proposition The Lose It! app was created for the purpose of helping its users lose, as well as maintain weight, for the purpose of a healthy lifestyle. Since the implementation of the Lose it! app, the app has aided over 30 million members.

Direct Competitors MyNetDiary MyFitnessPal Lifesum Manuel Ryan Espinosa 3-4-2018 Competative Analysis IN4MATX 283 LEC A: USER EXPERIENCE (37000)

DIRECT COMPETITORS OVERVIEW DESCRIPTION MyNetDiary is a free and pay calorie counter, food diary application and Fitness tracker. PROS MyNetDiary adds new features every month. CONS It lacks a real social network of its own. The free version is only a free for a 14-day trial. The app lacks the scan food items feature. DESCRIPTION MyFitnessPal is a free mobile app and website that helps users track diet and exercise to determine optimal caloric intake. PROS It is the Largest database api of any calorie counter app. It Can download and use recipes from the internet. CONS All major application features have been split up into smaller apps under the umbrella name of UnderArmor It is not easy to use than the Lose it! app. It does not support for Fitbit, Nike+, Run Club DESCRIPTION The main overall end goal for the LIfesum app is not just to lose weight, but rather to create a sustainable healthy lifestyle. PROS It is designed for a personal healthy lifestyle. The overall user experience on the mobile app is very smooth. CONS It lacks a real social network of its own. It lacks the most features of all calorie counting apps. The website lacks the same comfortable user experience that is given through its mobile version.

DIRECT COMPETITOR ANALYSIS INFORMATION YEAR FOUNDED PRIMARY PRODUCT 2005 Website Application Mobile Application MyNetDiary is a free and pay calorie counter, food diary application and Fitness tracker. MyNetDiary is available for the iphone, ipad, Android, Desktop, Fitbit and several other devices. Along with the dietary applications that MyNetDiary provides, MyNetDiary also comes with an online social support community. MONTHLY TRAFFIC N/A REVENUE STREAMS OPTIONS Monthly Payment Option Yearly Payment Option SOCIAL NETWORKS Personal Community Facebook Twitter + All other major brands PRICE RANGE Free Monthly Option $9 Yearly Option $60

DIRECT COMPETITOR HEURISTICS After signing in from the home page, the dashboard landing page is completely different. It lets the user know that he/she has landed on the Calorie page. All of the visual design, navigation and page layouts are consistent. A SEND FEEDBACK button is found on the bottom of each page, making user feedback simple for users to give. The plus button is familiar and intuitive for users to press as a menu for finding the Calorie Page Adding new foods to the calorie counter tool is extremely easy with the form field assist. The entire calorie entry process is intuitive. The Entire Calorie Entry Flow

DIRECT COMPETITOR ANALYSIS INFORMATION YEAR FOUNDED PRIMARY PRODUCT 2005 Website Application Mobile Application MyFitnessPal is a direct competitor of the Lose it! app. MyFitnessPal is a calorie counting, exercise tracking and nutrients application. MyFitnessPal allows users to either scan food barcode items or enter food titles in manually for keeping track of calorie count. MyFitnessPal has a large database consisting of over five million products. The application is able to pair with Fitbit, Garmin, Apple and Android devices using Wi-Fi technology. MONTHLY TRAFFIC 11.7 Million REVENUE STREAMS OPTIONS Monthly Payment Option Yearly Payment Option SOCIAL NETWORKS Personal Community Facebook Twitter + All other major brands PRICE RANGE Free Monthly Option $9 Yearly Option $49.99

DIRECT COMPETITOR HEURISTICS After signing in from the home page, the dashboard landing page is completely different. It lets the user know that he/she has landed on the Calorie page. Pressing the Add Food button leads to an entirely different entry form page. The user should never leave the Add Calorie page after the Add Food button is clicked. The visual design on the home page is completely different than all of the interior pages. There is no automatic form field entry assist when food food titles are entered in the Search field. The entire calorie entry process is intuitive, However, the process does not easily let the user accomplish his/her goal. Too many eggs with the same calorie count appear in the returned search options. The Entire Calorie Entry Flow

DIRECT COMPETITOR ANALYSIS INFORMATION YEAR FOUNDED PRIMARY PRODUCT 2005 Website Application Mobile Application The Lifesum mobile app has gained popularity because of a smooth user experience, personalized diet plans, nutrition advice, and health recipes. The main overall value proposition for the Lifesum app is not just for users to lose weight, but rather to assist its users create a sustainable healthy lifestyle. This is something that makes Lifesum a true competitor against the Lose it! mobile app. Lifesum is also innovating forward with the rapid approaching Internet of things by integrating with Fitbit and Google Fit. MONTHLY TRAFFIC 299,899 K REVENUE STREAMS OPTIONS Monthly Payment Option Yearly Payment Option SOCIAL NETWORKS Personal Community Facebook Twitter + All other major brands PRICE RANGE Free Monthly Option $3.75/mon 3-Month Option. $8.33/mon 12-Month Options $8.99/mon

DIRECT COMPETITOR HEURISTICS After clicking on the Home page Log-in button, the user lands on the wireframe below. The wireframe tells the user to download the Lifesum mobile app in order to enter calories into the Lifesum database. This is extremely inconvenient and annoying for website users. When the Contact button is pressed, the user lands on the Contact Lifesum page. On the Contact page, the user is given complicated directions for requesting help only from within the Lifesum mobile app. The Entire Website Flow

DIRECT COMPETITOR HEURISTICS The navigation, page layout, and visual design is all very consistent. A form that assist search feature makes searching for food titles fast and easy for users. There is no visible Help or Support button for users to press for needed assistance. Pressing the + button is intuitive for the user to press when searching for a calorie entry form field section of the application. The entire process of entering calories in the mobile app is extremely intuitive. The Entire Calorie Entry Flow

INDIRECT COMPETITORS Indirect competitors target the same customers as the direct competitors. However, indirect competitors offer a differnet value proposition. Manuel Ryan Espinosa 3-4-2018 Competative Analysis IN4MATX 283 LEC A: USER EXPERIENCE (37000)

INDIRECT COMPETITORS OVERVIEW DESCRIPTION Although the Fitbit app is focused more on the Fitbit line of products rather than on calorie counting, Fitbit is still an indirect force for the Lose it! app to be reckoned with. PROS It is free and upgradable with purchase of a product. It is an option to upgrade for a new coaching feature. DESCRIPTION MapMyFitness is a fitness application with its primary focus on allowing users to turn any path in the city into an actual workout on the app that can be shared with other users. PROS It allows users share current workout routes and workout routines. It allows users to use and explore completely new workout routes and routines. CONS It does not assist users with recipes. It does not sync with Apple Health. CONS Fitbit and Garmin are the only name-brand products that currently sync with the MapMyfitness mobile app.

INDIRECT COMPETITOR ANALYSIS INFORMATION YEAR FOUNDED PRIMARY PRODUCT 2005 Website Application Mobile Application The Fitbit app is focused more on the Fitbit line of products than it is on calorie counting. Currently, Fitbit has 23.6 million monthly users using it s product compared to only only 208,706 K monthly users using the Lose it! calorie counting app. And although Fitbit is currently making all of its money through its product line and offers its mobile app for free, the Fitbit mobile app has changed its previous focus from tracking steps to tracking calories based on activity, nutrition and lifestyle through the utilization of it s wearables. MONTHLY TRAFFIC 23.6 M REVENUE STREAMS OPTIONS Monthly Payment Option Yearly Payment Option SOCIAL NETWORKS Personal Community Facebook Twitter + All other major brands PRICE RANGE Free Minimal Product Free + Premium w/ Product Purchase

INDIRECT COMPETITOR HEURISTICS The visual design, navigation and page layouts all maintain a consistent look and feel throughout the entire application. This page presents users with daily calorie insights. However, the infographic feels more like an error alert panel. The first 3 panels of the Calorie Entry Flow

INDIRECT COMPETITOR HEURISTICS The food title search field utilizes a great form field to assist drop down menu. The drop down menu makes searches quickly and easily for product titles. Users know a food item has been successfuly added to the database when the green message below is revealed. The Activity History page is the first page a user lands on after clicking on the Calorie Counter button. This step is not intuitive. The entire calorie entry process is intuitive. These three wireframe pages appear to the user as one wireframe page. This prevents the user from confusion while entering his/her calorie values. The purpose of this page is to show the Calorie count. However, the calory number is hidden within the bottom text. This makes it difficult for users to search and find. The Last 4 Panels of the Calorie Entry

INDIRECT COMPETITOR ANALYSIS INFORMATION YEAR FOUNDED PRIMARY PRODUCT 2005 Website Application Mobile Application MapMyFitness is a fitness application with the primary value proposition set on allowing users to turn any path in the city into an actual workout on the app that can be shared with other users. This is a new and innovative way to allow users to explore new workouts that they would otherwise have never explored. Although MapMyFitness is not primarily focused on calorie counting, it does include the calorie counting feature. MapMyFitness is also financialy backed by Under Armour and, therefore, it is definitely an indirect financial threat to the makers of the Lose it! calorie counting app. MONTHLY TRAFFIC 110,000 REVENUE STREAMS OPTIONS Monthly Payment Option Yearly Payment Option SOCIAL NETWORKS Personal Community Facebook Twitter + All other major brands PRICE RANGE Free Monthly Option $9 Yearly Option $60

INDIRECT COMPETITOR HEURISTICS It utilizes a great form field assist drop down menu that makes searching for product items quickly, easily and intuitively for the users. All of the website wireframes contain a consistent visual design, navigation and page layout. The entire flow from for finding a pre-created workout route in the city is very intuitive and simple. The Entire Flow For Find A Fitness Route

INDIRECT COMPETITOR HEURISTICS The Submit A Request Form Page A contact phone number is not provided. The entire flow from for finding a support page workout is intuitive and simple. Clicking the Support button at the bottom of any page will navigate the user to a submit request form. The Entire Flow For Contacting Support

Influencers Features Relevant UX Features from Influencers Manuel Ryan Espinosa 3-4-2018 Competative Analysis IN4MATX 283 LEC A: USER EXPERIENCE (37000)

INFLUENCER RELEVANT UX FEATURE FINDINGS 1 2 Users are presented with an automatically suggested pre-planned calorie counted meal for the day. Find Cookware 3 Grab Ingredients Mealime s meal planning app helps time-strapped busy professionals learn to cook, eat healthy, and save time with personalized and healthy meal plans. Cook & Enjoy! Search steps 1-3 above make preparing a meal simple and intuitive. The Entire Flow For Pre-Planned Calorie Counted Meals

INFLUENCER RELEVANT UX FEATURE FINDINGS User can scan food item bar codes at the grocery store to learn about calorie counts and health ratings. 1 Home 2 Popular 3 Product Fooducated allows users to learn nutritional information and ratings about any item that he/she is interested in by scanning barcodes with the mobile app at any grocery store or by searching directly on the Fooducated website. The Entire Flow For Calorie Counted & Rated Grocery Store Food Items

RECOMMENDATIONS SUMMARY Summary of the Strongest Findings & Recommendations Manuel Ryan Espinosa 3-4-2018 Competative Analysis IN4MATX 283 LEC A: USER EXPERIENCE (37000)

RECOMMENDATION SUMMARY Strongest Features AI Technology The Lose it! app is the only calorie counting application that has successfully incorporated AI through its Snap It feature. The Snap It! feature allows users to take photographs of food items. The AI technology will instantly recognize the food and enter the food item into the calorie counting database. DNA Testing The FitNow UX Team working on the Lose it! app is the only team to successfully implement DNA testing in order to gain greater insights to help its users. For example, the Lose It! app s users are currently able to submit cotton swabs for DNA testing. The DNA on the cotton swabs reveal if a users body will metabolize certain foods differently than others. These DNA insights about the users metabolism will allow the Lose it! team to recommend a better and more specific meal plan to improve the users healthy lifestyle. Team of Fitness Experts The UX Team working on the Lose It! app is the only UX Team working on a fitness app with true UX fitness experts guiding the innovation. Recommendations Taking into consideration that AI Technology & DNA Testing are currently features that other UX Teams working on weightloss apps have never even come close to competing against. I recommend that FitNow continue to focus and innovate on these features. I feel that DNA Testing alone may one day reveal a proper diet for users to eat in order to sustain longer and healthier lives. The DNA testing may reveal insights regarding possible cancer prevention through proper diet, helping to prevent early deaths. The possibilities for a UX Team to innovate through DNA testing are endless. A second area that I recommend that the FitNow UX Team focus is in the area of Artificial Intelligence. AI technology is a technology that is so new in terms of the innovative possibilities and that I feel, with a small amount of research and a small amount of ideation, a UX Team could really gain an extreme advantage over its competition. Lastly, as the Lose It! app gains a larger foot hold in the fitness market, I recommend adding more nutrition experts with a specialization in genetics. Based on the insights revealed through the competative analysis, the recommendations presented here will improve the current Loset it! app and move FitNow Inc further ahead of its direct and indirect competitors in the health industry.

REFERENCES The 5 Best Calorie Counter Websites and Apps The 10 Best Weight Loss Apps - (Indirect Competitors) Weight Watchers Case Study How To Find and Track Your Mobile App Influencers Twitter Analytics - For finding Influencers How To Set Goals On the Google Calendar Lose it! Influencers The 10 Best Apps to Help You Get a Good Night s Sleep MyFitnessPal Monthly Users About Lifesum Fitbit vs Loseit https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/5-best-calorie-counters#section1 https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-best-weight-loss-apps http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2013/10422/a-weight-watchers-case-study-how-smart-marketing-pays-off https://medium.com/mobile-growth/how-to-find-and-track-your-mobile-app-influencers-771c4cd73a0f https://moz.com/followerwonk/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vyei9zvdwe https://www.loseit.com/about/ https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/06/the-10-best-apps-to-help-you-get-a-good-nights-sle.html https://www.statista.com/statistics/650748/health-fitness-app-usage-usa/ https://www.androidauthority.com/best-android-diet-apps-and-android-nutrition-apps-569702/ https://www.reddit.com/r/fitbit/comments/3fbbjn/fitbit_vs_lose_it_calorie_counting/