Signal Five wellness segments, with maximalist optimizers at 25% of consumers and over 40% of spend

Summary

McKinsey's wellness research sorts consumers into five distinct segments. Maximalist optimizers try out products and technologies grounded in science to get better outcomes, while health traditionalists stick to routines they already know and conventional ways of staying well. Health strugglers care about wellness yet are frequently unhappy with how far they have come and feel swamped by the effort their goals demand. Confident enthusiasts make wellness and fitness a priority and feel sure of their habits, whereas wellness shirkers are less involved with wellness in general. Maximalist optimizers, who skew toward Gen Z and millennials, make up about 25 percent of wellness consumers but more than 40 percent of market spending, which makes them an especially valuable group for brands.