New publication from our lab: Claire Mollier in Economica

We are pleased to announce that our colleague Claire Mollier has published an article titled “Step into action: how reminders shape engagement in fitness apps” in Economica.

The paper investigates whether behavioural reminders delivered through a step-tracking app can encourage people to walk more. Based on large-scale randomized controlled trial with more than 20,000 WeWard users in France, the authors compare three types of behavioural reminders: peer comparison, self-comparison, and sunk-cost framing. The study also examines whether longer exposure to these messages is more effective.

The results reveal an important distinction between engagement and behavioural change. Messages emphasizing peer comparison significantly increased the likelihood that users opened the app, demonstrating that social comparisons are effective at capturing attention. However, none of the reminders led to a meaningful increase in the number of steps walked, regardless of the type of message or the duration of the intervention.

The study highlights that higher engagement with a health app should not automatically be interpreted as improved health behaviour. More broadly, it suggests that digital health interventions should be evaluated based on their ability to generate lasting behavioural changes rather than simply increasing app usage.