Contents
Introduction
In today’s increasingly health-conscious world, the healthcare/fitness app market is diverse, with many apps appealing to users interested in health management and fitness.
In this article, we subdivide the free Top 20 Health/Fitness apps on the Japanese App Store into the categories of diet, fitness, self-management, and women’s apps, focusing on keywords and creative features of each category.
Diet
Diet will be a group that encompasses three genres: weight record/meal management/points based on the number of steps* you take.
Keywords
Utilizing the “App Explore” function within ASO index, frequent keywords used in 4 or more of the top 20 apps searched by category name (diet/fitness/self-care/for women [menstruation]) were extracted.
- The keywords healthcare, meal, and body fat percentage were used as keywords about diet and health management.
- The keywords stamp, challenge, and number of steps related to the number of steps x poikatsu (the more you walk, the more you save) related apps that appeared in many cases when searching for “diet” also appeared in many cases.
- Many of the keywords that users were looking for in terms of functionality when using the application were calendar, simple, and input (perhaps being able to input data themselves, etc.).
Creatives
Utilizing the “App Explore” function in ASO index, we looked at the creative (screenshots set in the app store) features of the top 20 apps searched by category name (diet/fitness/self-management/for women [menstruation]).
We can see that “No.1” is emphasized as a feature of the creative. The font used is Gothic, which gives a soft image.
The objective is to help people lose weight, so the actual number of kilograms to be lost on average is used to emphasize this.
*Comparison of the top applications when searching for “ダイエット” “diet,” and “다이어트” in the three countries.
Fitness
Fitness is a group that encompasses the four categories: gym, running, strength training, and smartwatch.
Keywords
- “apple” was frequently used as a keyword for device used, suggesting that many users use an apple watch.
- The frequent use of the keyword “home” suggests that users are looking for a casual workout that can be done at home.
- The keyword “fat-burning” is related to dieting, but it seems to be a category that is more concerned with the inside of the body.
- Activity/exercise/fitness/workout/strength training is a more detailed category within fitness.
- Trainers are looking for authentic instruction, which is evident from the results of the survey.
About Creatives
Many of the applications are from outside of Japan, and many of the creatives are designed to allow users to see training menus and plans. (Creative was not changed for the Japanese market, only localized.)
*Comparison of the top applications when searching for “フィットネス” “fitness” and “피트니스” in the three countries.
Self-Management
Self-management is a group that encompasses six genres: brain training / mindfulness / blood pressure / plastic surgery and facial diagnosis / massage / goal setting. Many genres are included in this category, and it was hard to define definitive sub-categories.
Keywords & Creatives
Many users are using the site to improve efficiency, to make a habit, or to visualize their activities.
Creative includes catchphrases such as “daily” and “easy-to-see→visualize” to encourage users to continue using the service.
*Comparison of the top applications when searching for “自己管理” “self-management” and “자기 관리” in the three countries.
For Women (menstruation) Category
The women’s category is a group that includes menstrual cycle records/menstrual product distribution.
Keywords & Creatives
Searching for 女性（”women”） in apps brings up fashion and coordination apps, while selecting 女性向け（”for women”） brings up games for women.
In this case, apps related to menstruation were included in the fitness category, so we selected apps that appeared in the “menstruation” category and found out that these apps often use a “support the women in menstruation or pregnancy” theme.
*Comparison of the top applications when searching for “生理” “Menstruation” and “생리” in the three countries.
It was noteworthy that the Japanese screenshots tend to use pink color in pastel tone, whereas those of America use more vivid colors while Korea is monotoned.
Conclusion
The Japanese health and fitness app market is filled with attractive apps that address diverse needs.
While most diet and women’s apps are domestic apps because of the particular demands for in-app design and UI design, fitness apps from outside of Japan are at the top of the list because of the particular demands for functionality.
Users are turning to apps that incorporate innovative technology to effectively manage their health and fitness. Through this article, we hope you will discover new trends and discover the diversity and features of Japanese health and fitness apps.
