A digital health app’s life rarely ends with a dramatic failure. More often, it fades quietly into the background of a user’s phone, unopened, ignored, eventually forgotten. Like a gym membership bought with the best intentions in January, the promise is there, but the habit never quite forms. In digital health, downloads are easy. Commitment is not.
This quiet abandonment is the industry’s defining paradox. Health apps are everywhere, yet engagement remains fragile, according to dacadoo. For insurers, HealthTech product leaders and wellness programme managers, the real challenge is no longer about shipping smarter features or launching faster.
It is about designing something people genuinely return to — a platform that earns its place in daily life rather than demanding attention it cannot sustain. Without that continuity, the promised outcomes of healthier behaviour, lower risk and reduced costs remain aspirational.
Engagement is the real measure of ROI
Engagement is not a vanity metric. It is the heartbeat of digital health ROI. Consistent use is what turns insights into habits, and habits into measurable outcomes.
When users show up regularly, risk profiles shift, claims pressure eases and long-term savings begin to materialise. When they do not, even the most sophisticated platforms amount to little more than well-funded experiments.
This is where platforms built on sustained engagement, such as those incorporating dacadoo’s Digital Health Engagement Platform (DHEP), are reshaping expectations around what digital health can realistically deliver. Rather than chasing short-term interaction spikes, the focus moves to long-term participation that insurers can model, measure and monetise.
The financial upside is substantial. Research from McKinsey & Company estimates that digital health solutions could unlock between 8% and 12% of total healthcare spending through improved efficiency, prevention and chronic condition management. For payers, that potential flows directly to the bottom line, with effective digital and AI-driven transformation capable of generating up to $970m in medical cost savings for every $10bn in revenue.
Why most health apps struggle to stick
That value, however, is conditional. Retention, not reach, determines whether savings ever leave the spreadsheet. From the policyholder’s perspective, engagement is shaped less by price and more by experience. Research from Accenture shows that ease of use and trust are stronger drivers of loyalty in healthcare than cost, underscoring the importance of intuitive design.
Stickiness begins with relevance. Generic advice quickly loses impact in a market saturated with similar tools. Effective platforms deliver personalised goals, coaching and recommendations that evolve with the user, supported by advanced analytics and AI. Whether someone is managing a chronic condition, training for an event or simply trying to sleep better, the platform must remain useful beyond the initial burst of motivation.
Just as important is effortlessness. Engagement collapses the moment an app feels like work. The most successful platforms integrate seamlessly into daily routines, encouraging frequent, lightweight interaction. Independent studies consistently show that frequency matters more than intensity when it comes to behavioural change, making frictionless design a commercial necessity rather than a nice-to-have.
When engagement translates into savings
This emphasis on sustained participation is reflected in dacadoo’s engagement data. The platform reports 7x higher 30-day retention compared to typical market averages, which often struggle to retain more than 3–4% of users after the first month. Monthly engagement stands at 71%, supported by continued growth in monthly active users, indicating that participation is not only high but durable.
Crucially, this engagement has been linked to real financial outcomes. An independent study conducted by the University of Groningen found that sustained use of the dacadoo app was associated with a 5% annual reduction in healthcare costs. These findings closely align with broader research from McKinsey and Accenture, reinforcing the relationship between engagement, behavioural change and economic value.
For insurers, the implications are clear. High-engagement platforms are no longer optional digital accessories. They are strategic levers for risk mitigation, cost reduction and policyholder retention, shifting relationships from transactional to collaborative. For digital health product teams, the message is equally stark: industry-standard retention rates are no longer sufficient. Success requires building products that evolve with users over time, not campaigns that spike and disappear.
Wellness programme managers face similar pressure. Investment decisions increasingly demand transparent engagement analytics and independent validation of savings. Platforms that can demonstrate both are easier to defend, scale and align with long-term financial objectives.
Across the healthcare ecosystem, the conclusion is consistent. Engagement must sit at the centre of digital health strategy, not at the margins. When platforms earn sustained attention, behavioural change follows — and financial results follow that. In digital health, engagement is the driver. Everything else is the outcome.
Read the full blog from dacadoo here.
Keep up with all the latest FinTech news here
Copyright © 2026 FinTech Global
