Top Trends in Integrative Health and What They Mean for Your Wellness Business in 2019
June 2, 2024
From acupressure and acupuncture to nutrition counseling and nap bars, integrative health offers various holistic approaches to achieve and maintain health.
As part of the Mindbody Wellness Index, we took a deep dive into the latest integrative health trends, including how much Americans spend, which services they prioritize, and more. If you own a wellness business, you’ll want to take note of these four findings in 2019:
1. Men place a higher priority, and spend more, on integrative health than women
It’s true; men prioritize integrative health services more than women at 32% versus 29%, respectively. With this in mind, it’s no surprise men spend approximately 32% more each year, on average, than women.
The opportunity for your business: Consider offering targeted services
Although services like massage, acupuncture, and nutrition can be marketed to all, if you’re hoping to target a specific demographic, you may benefit by offering services specific to each of their concerns. Our research, for example, suggests women are concerned with stress relief, hormonal balance, and weight loss. Men, on the other hand, look to integrative health to achieve peak performance and support recovery. Try offering services that address these specific goals.
2. Consumers who get regular integrative health services spend more on their overall wellness
Regular integrative health consumers, or those who get services three or more times per year, spend more on their overall wellness, including fitness and beauty. Meaning, when compared to the average consumer, they spent more across fitness ($456 versus $255), beauty ($588 versus $387), and integrative health services ($576 versus $263) each year.
The opportunity for your business: Collaborate and cross-promote with fitness and beauty businesses
Because integrative health consumers spend more across all wellness categories, it’s likely you’ll connect with prospective customers at nearby beauty and fitness businesses. Consider cross-promotion with a local fitness studio or gym, or develop a treatment package with a salon or spa.
3. Massage is currently the most popular service, but acupuncture looks to be on the rise
Massage is, by far, the most popular integrative health service. In fact, 60% of consumers reported they had a massage within the past year. Chiropractic care is a distant second, followed by nutrition counseling, the third most popular service.
What are consumers excited to try next? Acupuncture.
It’s the top integrative health service among all age groups and genders, except for 18-25 year-old women. This younger demographic is most interested in massage services.
The opportunity for your business: Pair treatments for a more holistic experience
With so many Americans interested in trying new integrative health services, give them the opportunity to experiment by combining treatments. Not only will it provide a more well-rounded approach to healing, but it may help them find new services at your business they love. For example, combine massage and acupuncture to enhance the effects of each or B12 shots and nutrition counseling to treat deficiencies in both the short and long term. Another option? Offer a discount for regular customers who want to try a new service, e.g., purchase a massage and get 25% off your first acupuncture treatment.
Garrett Ewers, Chief Integration Officer of Rejuv Medical, does just that—leans on education and early adopter discounts to encourage new offerings. His team explains to clients, “It's not replacing, it just helps you do better in what I'm doing [as a practitioner] and then ultimately reach the goals that you want. One service is going to get you sixty, seventy percent of the way. Additional services are going to start to fill in that next five, ten percent until you can get that hundred percent of your goal.”
4. Interest in integrative health services varies by age and geography
All age groups can agree on acupuncture and massage as the services they’re most interested in trying next. However, the services that follow vary depending on age group. Forty-six to 65 year-olds are interested in services like non-surgical body sculpting, while 26 to 45 year-olds are interested in acupressure. Finally, 18-25 year-olds are interested in detox programs.
Interest also differs across metro areas. For example. Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY, is most interested in getting needled, whereas St. Louis, MO-IL, is least. Similarly, Birmingham-Hoover, AL, is most interested in massage, whereas Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, not so much.
The opportunity for your business: Keep these trends in mind if you’re considering relocation or a new location altogether.
Try a pop-up event in the location you’re considering to see if your services are fitting to a specific location and demographic. Download the full report for a sneak peek at the metros that may work best.
