Wearables User Research: Understanding Hydration Habits Among Fitness Enthusiasts in London
Qualitative research with smartwatch and fitness tracker users reveals what drives hydration tracking behaviour — and how to design better health features.
When a leading wearables technology company wanted to understand how fitness enthusiasts actually think about hydration, they turned to MindMarket. The challenge was specific: recruit dedicated wearables users across multiple brands, explore their hydration tracking behaviours in depth, and uncover insights that would shape the future of health-focused wearable features.
This wasn't about surface-level feedback. Our client needed to understand the emotional and practical drivers behind hydration monitoring — when users check their levels, what data formats they prefer, and how hydration fits into their broader wellness routines. The insights would directly inform product development decisions worth millions.
The Challenge: Finding the Right Participants in a Crowded Market
The wearable technology market is booming. With smartwatches alone commanding 46% of the market share and health applications growing faster than any other segment, competition for user attention is fierce. Our client understood that winning in this space requires genuine understanding of user needs — not assumptions.
But here's where it gets interesting: they didn't want feedback from just any fitness tracker users. They needed participants who met highly specific criteria.
Our recruitment brief:
✓ 18 participants based in London
✓ Active users of fitness wearables (any brand — Apple Watch, Garmin, Fitbit, Whoop, Samsung, Fossil, Google, or others)
✓ Demonstrated history of tracking water intake
✓ Genuine interest in health monitoring and hydration
✓ Willing to participate in intensive 90-minute online interviews
This combination of behavioural and attitudinal criteria made recruitment genuinely challenging. We weren't just looking for people who owned a smartwatch — we needed participants whose relationship with their device reflected a conscious, ongoing commitment to hydration health.
Our Approach: Precision Recruitment Meets Human-First Research
At MindMarket, we believe the quality of insights depends entirely on the quality of participants. So we approached this project with the rigour it deserved.
Multi-brand reach across the wearables ecosystem. Rather than limiting our search to one device or platform, we cast a wide net across the entire wearables landscape. This gave our client a richer, more representative picture of user behaviour — understanding how hydration tracking works (or doesn't) across different ecosystems and interfaces.
Behavioural screening, not just demographics. Anyone can recruit "fitness tracker owners." The real skill lies in identifying participants whose actual behaviour matches the research objectives. We screened for genuine hydration tracking history, asking candidates about their routines, motivations, and the specific ways they use their devices to monitor fluid intake.
London-based expertise. With teams on the ground in London, we navigated the city's diverse fitness communities — from gym enthusiasts to outdoor runners, health-conscious professionals to dedicated athletes. Local knowledge meant faster recruitment and higher-quality participants.
The result? A carefully curated group of 18 respondents, each bringing genuine experience and thoughtful perspectives to the research.
The Research: 90-Minute Online In-Depth Interviews
With participants secured, we moved into fieldwork: intensive one-on-one interviews conducted online, each lasting 90 minutes.
Why 90 minutes? Because understanding hydration behaviour requires depth. We needed time to explore not just what users do, but why they do it — the motivations, frustrations, aspirations, and emotional connections that shape their relationship with health tracking technology.
Key areas of exploration:
When and how do users gauge hydration? We explored the touchpoints throughout the day when hydration becomes top-of-mind. Upon waking? Post-exercise? Continuously throughout the day? Understanding these moments helps designers create features that meet users where they are.
Quantitative data versus relative indicators. Some users want precise millilitre counts and hydration percentages. Others prefer simpler signals — a gentle reminder, a colour-coded indicator, a progress ring. We unpacked these preferences to understand what drives each approach and when each format works best.
Integration with broader health routines. Hydration doesn't exist in isolation. We examined how water intake tracking connects with sleep monitoring, activity tracking, nutrition logging, and overall wellness goals — revealing opportunities for more holistic feature design.
Pain points and unmet needs. What frustrates users about current hydration features? What's missing? Where do they wish their devices did more? These candid conversations surfaced actionable improvement opportunities.
The feedback loop between our team, participants, and the client was immediate and collaborative. Insights emerged in real-time, allowing for responsive exploration of unexpected themes as they surfaced.
The Outcome: Redesigning the Hydration User Journey
This project delivered far more than a research report. The insights we gathered enabled our client to fundamentally rethink their approach to hydration features.
User-centric design grounded in real behaviour. By understanding actual user routines and preferences, the product team could design features that fit naturally into people's lives — rather than forcing users to adapt to arbitrary interface decisions.
Clinical relevance meets delightful experience. Health tracking walks a fine line between medical utility and consumer appeal. Our research helped identify where users want rigour and precision versus where they prefer simplicity and encouragement.
Personalisation opportunities. Different users have different hydration needs and preferences. The research revealed clear segments and use cases, enabling more personalised feature development.
Competitive differentiation. With insights spanning users of Apple, Garmin, Fitbit, Whoop, and other platforms, our client gained valuable perspective on competitive strengths and weaknesses — understanding what users love and hate about existing solutions across the market.
The project ultimately contributed to a complete refresh of the client's Hydration Critical User Journey — transforming it from a functional feature into a genuinely engaging, personalised experience.
Why This Project Matters
At MindMarket, we love projects that sit at the intersection of technology and genuine human needs. Wearable health technology has enormous potential to improve people's lives — but only when it's designed with real understanding of how people actually think, feel, and behave.
This hydration research exemplifies our approach: rigorous recruitment, thoughtful methodology, and insights that translate directly into better products. We didn't just deliver data. We helped our client see their users more clearly — and build something better as a result.
The wearables market will continue growing rapidly. The winners will be companies that invest in genuine user understanding, not just feature checklists. We're proud to partner with brands committed to that human-first philosophy.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you recruit such specific participants for wearables research?
We combine targeted outreach across fitness communities, behavioural screening questionnaires, and our established network of research participants. For this project, we screened for genuine hydration tracking behaviour — not just device ownership — ensuring every participant brought relevant, authentic experience to the interviews.
Why use 90-minute in-depth interviews rather than shorter sessions?
Health and wellness behaviours are complex. Understanding the emotional drivers, daily routines, and underlying motivations behind hydration tracking requires time to build rapport and explore topics thoroughly. Shorter sessions often yield superficial insights; extended interviews reveal the nuanced understanding that drives genuine product innovation.
Can you research users across multiple wearables brands simultaneously?
Absolutely. In fact, multi-brand research often delivers richer insights. Understanding how users experience hydration features across Apple Watch, Garmin, Fitbit, and other platforms reveals competitive opportunities and universal user needs that single-brand research might miss.
How quickly can you complete a wearables user research project?
Timelines vary based on participant criteria and methodology, but MindMarket specialises in efficient, high-quality delivery. For this London-based project with specific behavioural requirements, we moved from brief to completed fieldwork in under two weeks.
What industries do you support with wearables and fitness tech research?
We work with smartwatch manufacturers, fitness app developers, health technology companies, sports brands, and any organisation building products for health-conscious consumers. Our expertise spans consumer electronics, digital health, sports performance, and wellness technology.
Do you conduct wearables research in markets outside London?
Yes. MindMarket operates across 30+ countries with local expertise in each market. Whether you need research in London, Tokyo, São Paulo, or multiple markets simultaneously, we provide the same precision recruitment and human-first methodology globally.
Ready to understand your wearables users better? Get in touch with MindMarket to discuss your next research project.
