Informing the development of an online platform dedicated to female well-being

: a consumer perspective

Abstract

The market for digital services and apps focusing on physical and mental well-being is growing tremendously. Alongside this, issues relating to mental health and well-being are still severe, especially in Portugal. A Portuguese startup sees the potential of combining the three pillars of mental, physical, and financial well-being in a new online platform dedicated to female well-being. The purpose of this study is to guide the founder in the conceptualization and ideation of the product and service. This study investigates best practices and what is lacking in the market offer (RQ1), the characteristics of the target consumer and most valued features (RQ2), what the willingness to pay is, and what the recommended pricing model could be from a consumer perspective (RQ3). The methodology used is a combination of qualitative research in the form of semi-structured in-depth interviews with 10 users of online well-being platforms, and quantitative research with an online questionnaire from 155 female Portuguese respondents, followed by subsequent data analysis. The themes found for best practices were theory amount, convenience, and variety. What seems to be lacking was identified as personalization, customization, and community. The most valued features for the target consumer were interaction features and various features categorized as extra features. The spending habits are mixed among current users where the majority do not spend anything, and the recommended pricing model is a freemium model.

Date of Award	22 Jan 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Rute Xavier (Supervisor)