Insights & Trends 2026
The 2026 Topic
Health Tech in Bloom?
An international consumer study
Artificial intelligence has shaped the industry debate in recent years. At the same time, a second, equally profound development is emerging: health and wellbeing tech is becoming widely available and embedding prevention, self-care and healthy aging into people’s everyday lives.
This is exactly where GFU and Oliver Wyman come in. Their representative international consumer study provides the data for Insights & Trends 2026: on usage, motivation and willingness to buy in relation to health tech. After all, the devices have long been present in almost every household. The real question is how they can create genuine added value for health.
The study
Six markets, one question: What makes us healthy?
The study analyzed consumer behavior in six key global markets, including Germany, India, China and the USA. The focus was on the question of how consumers invest in their health. And the results reveal clear cultural differences: while performance optimization is the priority in some markets, German consumers are driven above all by the desire for a healthy, pleasant life. The study also examined how consumers integrate smart devices into existing health budgets and the level of acceptance for digital subscriptions and data-based services.
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Carine Chardon • Managing Director of GFU Consumer & Home Electronics GmbH
»Health tech is an integral part of people’s everyday lives worldwide. In the coming years, the importance of these devices will continue to grow. Consumers are increasingly open to additional offerings from providers and are planning higher investments in the future. At the same time, the user-friendliness of devices and applications is becoming ever more important and thus a purchasing criterion. A particular challenge arises for those who use several different health tech devices in parallel.«
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Dr. Martin Schulte • Partner and Global Head of Consumer Durables at Oliver Wyman
»Manufacturers of health tech products play an important role in reducing the high stress levels identified worldwide in the study. Complementary subscription models can help further increase the already growing willingness to pay and retain customers through personalized analyses and recommendations. In principle, the industry must take into account that the individual reasons for purchasing devices differ from country to country. Targeted communication is therefore also crucial for market success.«
Sebastian Kebbe Managing Director & Chief Commercial Officer, Beurer GmbH
»The pandemic and increasing environmental influences such as heat or air pollution are accelerating the integration of medical measuring devices into everyday life. Through self-determined, continuous data collection via app, consumers experience preventive empowerment. While Asian markets are more technologically open, in Europe data sovereignty and concrete everyday benefits must be demonstrated more clearly; this is what we stand for, and in particular for data protection.«
Gerrit Janßen Commercial Leader / Country Leader Personal Health DACH, Philips GmbH
»Health technologies have now become a natural part of households and are becoming deeply established in preventive behavior through products such as electric toothbrushes. The future market lies in personalized services and subscriptions that translate data in an understandable way. For German consumers, the clinical evidence and medical credibility of established manufacturers are decisive.«
Health Tech in Bloom? Study and Press Release
Read the results in detail.
The complete consumer study and the accompanying press release marking the start of the IFA Kick-Off are now available for download – with all data on consumer behavior, market potential and future expectations in six key global markets.
GFU Insights & Trends 2026
