Fitbit, Inc. operates as a technology company that focuses on delivering health solutions that impact health outcomes.
The company’s Fitbit platform combines wearable devices with software and services to give its users tools to help them reach their health and fitness goals, augmented by general purpose features that add utility and drive user engagement. The company’s wearable devices, which include health and fitness trackers and smartwatches, enable its users to view data about their daily...
Fitbit, Inc. operates as a technology company that focuses on delivering health solutions that impact health outcomes.
The company’s Fitbit platform combines wearable devices with software and services to give its users tools to help them reach their health and fitness goals, augmented by general purpose features that add utility and drive user engagement. The company’s wearable devices, which include health and fitness trackers and smartwatches, enable its users to view data about their daily activity, exercise, and sleep in real-time. The company’s software and services, which include an online dashboard and mobile app, provide its users with data analytics, motivational and social tools, and virtual coaching through customized fitness plans and interactive workouts. In addition, the company’s software and services drive engagement and could be leveraged to provide personalized insights. Together, the company’s devices, services, and software help users on their health and fitness journeys be active, sleep better, eat smarter, and manage their weight. Fitbit appeals to various consumers by addressing key health and fitness needs with technology embedded in various products and services.
The core of the company’s platform is its family of wearable devices. These devices automatically track users’ daily steps, calories burned, distance traveled, and active minutes, and display real-time feedback to encourage users to become active in their daily lives. Majority of the company’s wearable devices also measure floors climbed, and sleep duration and quality, and its products track heart rate and GPS-based information, such as speed, distance, and exercise routes. Some of its devices also have advanced features, such as the ability to receive call and text notifications, and certain of its devices offer contactless payments, on-board music, notifications, and the ability to download third-party apps. To accompany certain of its products, the company offers accessories that include interchangeable wrist bands and frames, colored clips, device charging cables, wireless sync dongles, band clasps, and Fitbit apparel. In addition, the company offers Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connected scales that record weight, body fat, and body mass index.
The company’s platform also includes software that helps to encourage healthy behavior changes in three areas: activity, sleep, and nutrition. The software includes the company’s online dashboard and mobile apps, which wirelessly and automatically sync with its devices. It enables users to see trends and achievements and access motivational tools such as coaching and guidance, or connections to its community. The company’s direct connection with its users also enables it to provide personalized insights. In addition, the company extends the value of its platform through its open application programming interface, which enables third-party developers to create health and fitness apps that interact with its platform. Through its open platform and its large community of users, the company has established an ecosystem that includes various third-party health and fitness apps that connect with its products and enhance the Fitbit experience.
The company’s platform enables a range of people to get fit their own way, whatever their interests and goals. The company’s users range from people interested in improving their health and fitness through everyday activities, to endurance athletes seeking to maximize their performance. To address this range of needs, the company designs its devices, apps, and services to be easy to use so that they fit seamlessly into peoples’ daily lives and activities. The company’s users could sync their Fitbit devices with and view their dashboard on their computers and approximately 200 mobile devices, including iOS, Android, and Windows Phone products.
The Fitbit Platform
The company’s wearable platform is designed to enable its users to improve their health and fitness by:
Tracking activities through its wearable devices: The company enables users to live healthier, more active lifestyles by both tracking the information that matters most to them and providing them with real-time feedback. The company’s wearable devices span multiple styles, form factors, and price points, and, as a result, address the needs of a range of people—from people looking to get fit by increasing their activity levels, to endurance athletes seeking to maximize their performance. The company’s devices, which include both health and fitness trackers and smartwatches and its Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connected scales, feature proprietary and advanced sensor technologies and algorithms, and long battery lives.
Learning through its online dashboard and mobile apps: The company offers its users a personalized online dashboard and mobile apps that sync automatically with and display data from its wearable devices. The company provides its users with a range of information and analytics, such as charts and graphs of their progress and the ability to log caloric intake. Both its online dashboard and mobile apps are free and work with all of the company’s wearable devices.
Devices and Accessories
The company’s line of devices includes the Fitbit Charge 3, Fitbit Inspire, Fitbit Inspire HR, and Fitbit Ace 2 activity trackers, in addition to the Fitbit Ionic and Fitbit Versa family of smartwatches, as well as Fitbit Flyer wireless headphones and the Fitbit Aria family of connected scales. The company also offers a line of accessories, including bands and frames for some of its devices.
Software and Services
The company offers both enterprise software, such as corporate challenges for Fitbit Health Solutions customers, and coaching and guidance for its retail customers.
Fitbit Online Dashboard and Mobile Apps: The company offers its users a personalized online dashboard and mobile apps that sync automatically with, and display real-time data from, its wearable devices. Through these offerings, the company provides users with charts and graphs of their progress, analysis of their activities, and the ability to log caloric intake. Additionally, the company motivates users through real-time feedback including notifications, leaderboard and challenge updates, and virtual badges. The company’s platform also offers users social features, such as access to an online community of users, leaderboards and challenges, that allow users to receive and provide support and engage in competition. The company’s online dashboard and mobile apps are available for free through the iOS App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, and on Fitbit.com.
Fitbit Premium: In August 2019, the company launched Fitbit Premium, a paid subscription service that uses the data of users to deliver actionable guidance and coaching to help users achieve their health and fitness goals. Fitbit Premium includes Fitbit Coach, which provides exercise programs through personal trainer and yoga apps that continuously adjust to the company’s users based on feedback throughout the workout.
Fitbit Care: In September 2018, the company launched Fitbit Care, a connected health platform for health plans, employers, and health systems that combines health coaching and virtual care through the new Fitbit Plus app, Fitbit’s wearable devices, and self-tracking and personalized digital interventions to help improve wellness, and disease management and prevention. Fitbit Care is sold through the company’s Fitbit Health Solutions channel.
Sales Channels and Customers
The company sells its products through three primary channels:
Retail and Distribution Channel: The company offers its products in approximately 39,000 retail stores and in approximately 100 countries. The company focuses on building close relationships with its retailers, working with them to merchandise its products in both in-store and on their e-commerce sites, promoting its products through their marketing efforts, and educating their sales forces about its products. In addition, the company sells to distributors who resell its products to retailers.
Consumer Electronics and Specialty Retailers: The company’s products are sold by electronics retailers with a large domestic and international presence, such as Best Buy.
e-Commerce Retailers: The company’s products are sold on Amazon.com, in addition to the e-commerce sites of its retailers.
Mass merchant, Department store, and Club Retailers: The company’s products are sold by large retailers, including Target, Costco, Macy’s, Kohl’s, and Walmart.
Sporting Goods and Outdoors Retailers: The company’s products are sold by sporting goods and outdoors retailers, including Dick’s Sporting Goods and REI.
Wireless Carriers: The company’s products are sold by wireless carriers, including Verizon.
Distributors: The company’s products are sold by a network of distributors.
Fitbit Health Solutions channel: The company’s Fitbit Health Solutions channel provides a resource for health and wellness solutions designed to increase engagement, improve health outcomes, and drive positive returns for employers, health plans, and health systems. It leverages its consumer device technology to build a platform of hardware and software tools to motivate people to make sustained behavior change. Fitbit Health Solutions partners and sells offerings to employer health and wellness plans, health plans, hospitals, and researchers through a direct sales team and indirectly through partners. In 2018, the company launched Fitbit Care, a connected health platform for health plans, employers, and health systems that combines health coaching and virtual care, wearable devices, and personalized digital interventions to support patients outside the walls of the clinical environment.
Research and Development
The company’s research and development expenses were $300.4 million for 2019.
Intellectual Property
As of December 31, 2019, the company had 602 issued patents. The company pursues the registration of its domain names, trademarks, and service marks in the United States and in certain locations outside the United States.
Competition
The wearable devices market has a multitude of participants, including various broad-based consumer electronics companies that either compete in the company’s market or adjacent markets or have announced plans to do so, such as Apple, Samsung, LG, and Google. The company also faces competition from manufacturers of lower-cost devices, such as Xiaomi, with its Mi Band devices, and Huawei. Market participants also include specialized consumer electronics companies, such as Garmin, as well as traditional watch companies, such as Fossil.
Significant Event
In March 2019, Fitbit and Solera health expand partnership to reduce risk of type 2 diabetes.
In April 2020, the company announced it is collaborating with The Scripps Research Institute and Stanford Medicine on research aimed at using Fitbit data to help detect, track and contain infectious diseases like COVID-19. This new research consortium invites other institutions to join in this collective effort and share key learnings with the research community. The Scripps Research Translational Institute has launched DETECT, an app-based research program that would analyze participants’ wearable health data—including heart rate, sleep and activity levels—to detect the emergence of influenza, coronavirus and other fast-spreading viral illnesses. The company would support the research community by driving consumer awareness of this important research and providing its users with onramp to join the effort.
History
The company was founded in 2007. It was incorporated in Delaware in March 2007 as Healthy Metrics Research, Inc. and changed its name to Fitbit, Inc. in 2007.
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