E-Business
IDC Examines Fitness Activity Trackers & Consumer Engagement Trends
International Data Corporation (IDC) Health Insights on Friday announced the availability of a two new reports examining fitness activity trackers and consumer engagement.
The first report, “Vendor Assessment: Consumer Engagement — Fitness Activity Trackers, Improving Health One Step at a Time,” examines the consumer market for wearable fitness and activity trackers and profiles four companies that are working with healthcare organizations to incorporate their products and services into the healthcare organizations’ health and wellness programs. Companies profiled in the report include BodyMedia, FitBit, FitLinxx, and Gruve.
The second report, “Perspective: The Consumer Experience — Why Consumers Stop Using Fitness Trackers,” provides insights from IDC Health Insights’ Cross-Industry.
Some of the Insight results are on Consumer Experience Survey on why consumers stopped using their fitness and activity trackers.
Healthcare organizations looking to incorporate wearable devices into their wellness programs can use the findings of this survey to understand the common challenges associated with consumer adoption of wearable devices and develop strategies to overcome them.
Health and fitness activity trackers make up the majority of the wearable technology market today. Healthcare organizations are evaluating how they can be incorporated into their health and wellness initiatives as a means of better engaging their members and patients in their quest toward reaching their health goals. According to the new IDC Health Insights reports, education of the benefits of using fitness and activity trackers will play an important role in deploying health and wellness programs that incorporate wearable devices. This is true not only for consumers but for their care providers. Creating the proper incentives to use the device and providing actionable information that consumers can use to change their behavior will ensure consistent use by the consumers and ultimately help them achieve their health goals.
“To control escalating healthcare costs, especially for chronic conditions, healthcare organizations are evaluating a variety of options to engage consumers and encourage them to take a more active role in managing their health,” said Lynne A. Dunbrack, research vice president, IDC Health Insights.
“Sitting is the new smoking. Clinical research shows that a sedentary lifestyle contributes to poor health status. Consistent use of fitness and activity trackers with built-in sensors combined with mobile health applications enables consumers to improve their health.”
A significant challenge is that, after the initial infatuation with their device and its various data outputs, consumers of all ages and health statuses lose interest and stop using their activity tracker.
According to the Cross-Industry Consumer Experience Survey, one out of three consumers who are using or have used a fitness and activity tracker reported that they stopped using it.
The primary reason given when asked why they stopped was that they lost interest in tracking their activity level.
A number of factors contribute to why consumers lose interest: wearability, mobile application challenges, device look and feel, informational challenges, and other motivational challenges.
Lynne continued, “If health and wellness programs that use fitness and activity trackers are to be successful, they must create sustained interest among consumers to continue using these devices and their accompanying health applications. Furthermore, careful attention must be paid to program design to ensure ongoing consumer engagement and successful outcomes. Advancements in wearable technologies that address current usability issues will help to enhance the consumer experience and encourage ongoing and consistent use. Until then, it will be one step at a time to get consumers to actively engage in using a fitness and activity tracker.”
IDC Health Insights assists health businesses and IT leaders, as well as the suppliers who serve them, in making more effective technology decisions by providing accurate, timely, and insightful fact-based research and consulting services.
Staffed by senior analysts with decades of industry experience, our global research analyzes and advises on business and technology issues facing the payer, provider and life sciences industries. International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology market.
Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has opposed a bill seeking to compel major global social media companies to establish physical offices in Nigeria.
The rights advocacy group urged the National Assembly to discard the proposed legislation, warning that it could become a tool for censorship and undermine citizens’ constitutional right to freedom of expression, despite being presented as a measure to strengthen Nigeria’s digital economy and improve corporate accountability.
The position was contained in a presentation submitted yesterday by Emmanuel Onwubiko, national coordinator, HURIWA, to the chairman of the Senate Committee on ICT and Cyber Security.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Ned Munir Nwoko, has already passed second reading in the Senate and is before the committee for further legislative consideration.
HURIWA said it carefully reviewed the proposed legislation and concluded that compelling global technology companies to establish offices in Nigeria was unnecessary and potentially counterproductive.
The organisation argued that while the firms generate substantial revenue from Nigeria’s vast digital market, they already engage Nigerians through existing structures, including paying eligible content creators, working with local technology professionals and participating in legal proceedings whenever required.
According to the group, appointing local representatives where necessary would adequately address concerns about engagement with regulators and users without forcing the companies to maintain physical offices.
It also dismissed claims that mandatory country offices would significantly improve consumer complaint resolution, technology transfer or employment generation.
HURIWA maintained that the platforms already have effective feedback mechanisms for resolving users’ complaints and routinely appear before Nigerian courts through their representatives whenever litigation arises.
The group, however, said its greatest concern was the potential for the proposed law to be used as an instrument for restricting freedom of expression.
It argued that establishing local offices could expose global social media companies to pressure from government authorities to remove online content considered critical of those in power.
According to the rights group, the presence of social media companies in Nigeria could become an avenue for authorities to pressure them into abandoning internationally recognised digital rights standards in favour of politically motivated content moderation.
It recalled previous attempts to regulate social media in Nigeria that generated widespread concerns over possible restrictions on free speech, stressing that any legislation affecting the digital space must contain clear safeguards against abuse.
The organisation warned that the proposed law should never become “a backdoor mechanism for government surveillance, arbitrary content removal or political censorship.
Nigeria has emerged as one of Africa’s most regulated online gambling markets, even as illegal operators continue to dominate the continent, according to a new report by Gaming Compliance International (GCI).
The report, the first comprehensive assessment of online gambling across all 54 African countries, showed that Africa’s online gambling Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) reached $23 billion in 2025.
However, only $5.2 billion (23 per cent) was generated by licensed operators, while $17.8 billion (77 per cent) remained in the unregulated market.
In West Africa, total online gambling revenue rose to $4.8 billion in 2025 from $4.3 billion in 2024. Of the 2025 figure, regulated operators accounted for $1.5 billion (31 per cent), while $3.3 billion (69 per cent) flowed to unlicensed platforms, highlighting the region’s persistent enforcement challenges.
Nigeria stood out as the region’s strongest performer, recording the lowest unregulated market share at 56 per cent, compared with the West African average of 69 per cent and the African average of 77 per cent.
The study also found that online gambling participation across Africa increased from 198 million people (13 per cent of the population) in 2024 to 215 million (14 per cent) in 2025.
Despite this growth, GCI estimated that illegal operators deprived African governments of about $3.55 billion in tax revenue in 2025. The number of unlicensed gambling platforms targeting African consumers also rose to 4,129, up from 3,644 in 2024.
Commenting on the findings, Matt Holt, chief executive officer, GCI, said the report provides regulators with the first continent-wide benchmark for strengthening oversight and consumer protection.
Ismail Vali, president, GCI, urged governments to develop competitive and well-regulated markets that encourage consumers to patronise licensed operators, boost public revenue and attract greater investment.
Online gambling in Nigeria is regulated by the Nation Lottery Regulatory Commission.
At the height of the Northern Hemisphere tourist season, demand for communications and mobile Internet services rises sharply. Kaspersky’s security experts have uncovered scams that target anyone purchasing mobile connections or SIM cards worldwide.
Fraudsters create counterfeit websites that look like the portals of major regional and international telecom providers to trick users into revealing their phone numbers, personal details or banking information.
Kaspersky is sharing several examples of these fake login pages that mimic legitimate telecom operator sites and giving recommendations on how not to be deceived.
In the first case, scammers exploit the brand name of an international telecommunications company operating services in Asia, Africa and Europe. Fake authentication pages encourage users to put in their phone number and credentials.
While the first example shows the different design, the second scam site closely mimics the original log in page, making it hard for users to tell the difference and spot a fake. Entering authentication or payment data on fraudulent web sites may result in money or data loss and become a reason for more frequent spam and fraudulent calls.
Another example is a scam page which poses as another international communications company, working in North Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. In this scheme scammers encourage users to top up their mobile data/Internet plans by entering their personal information and bank cards details.
Kaspersky experts have also identified a scam when cyber criminals suggest users enter their personal data to check and pay a bill inquiry. Such scam schemes are usually aimed at gaining victims’ personal data for further fraud or account hacking and stealing money.
“Because of the active use of AI, scammers can now create fake pages with ever increasing accuracy and speed, targeting the most popular user interest areas. We constantly see scams revolving around sports events, music concerts, seasonal sales and holidays. Unfortunately, the telecoms industry is no exception.
To keep your data and money safe, be vigilant when purchasing mobile or Internet plans online. Using an eSIM – purchased through an official app – is one way to avoid fake telecom sites, as it eliminates the need to enter personal details on questionable web pages.
If you’re unsure about a site’s legitimacy, search for the brand name directly in a search engine and enable a security solution that blocks phishing links for you,” comments Tatyana Kulikova, cybersecurity expert at Kaspersky.
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