Fitness and health are priority areas of expenditure for consumers in six key nations around the world, according to a new report by McKinsey.

The Future of Wellness Survey questioned 7,500 consumers in Brazil, China, Germany, Japan, the US and the UK during August 2020 to establish their spending priorities and found fitness and health represent nearly two-thirds of their spending on wellness.

The report divides wellness spending into six categories – fitness, health, sleep, mindfulness, nutrition and appearance.

Although the way consumers report spending their money differs significantly between countries, the report shows that fitness and health remain priority areas for all.

Out of the six nations studied, Germans spend the most on fitness (27.8 per cent), followed by the Chinese (17.9 per cent), the Brits (16 per cent), the Americans (13.8 per cent) and Japanese (10.6 per cent).

In each country, the combination of spending on fitness and health is as follows:

Brazil (76.5 per cent)

Germany (70.9 per cent)US (63.9 per cent)

UK (63.8 per cent)Japan (63 per cent)

China (61.4 per cent)

The report also found that 37 per cent of consumers plan to spend more on wellness services during the next 12 months, saying: "In overall spending, consumers expect to increase their purchases of both wellness products and services over the next year,' with services expected to increase around 30 per cent.

"We expect a greater shift toward services, especially those such as personal training, nutritionists, and counselling that emphasise physical and mental health," said McKinsey.

The results are likely to be influenced by the impact of the pandemic in the country in question, with Brazil – where consumers tend to traditionally favour aesthetics – scoring high for health.

In Brazil, 64.6 per cent of annual consumer spend on wellness is focused on health, while 11.9 per cent is concentrated on fitness.

To download and read the full Future of Wellness Survey, click here.

KEY NUMBERS

Health as a percentage of annual spending on wellness products and services

Brazil 64.6%Japan 52.4%

USA 50.1%UK 47.8%

China 43.5%Germany 43.1%

Fitness as a percentage of annual spending on wellness products and services

Germany 27.8

China 17.9UK 16.0

US 13.8Brazil 12.8

Japan 10.6