The Value of Virtual Engagement: Evidence from a Running Platform

Fueled by remarkable developments in mobile and wearable technologies coupled with the power of the Internet a multibillion industry constructed on digital platforms, Connected Fitness, has emerged. Sustained engagement is a crucial prerequisite for healthy behavior, and platforms that offer connected fitness services must contend with the challenge of engaging new users. In this study, we examine whether a virtual race, an event in which runners can participate remotely in an organized activity, can serve as an effective strategy to amplify users’ long-term engagement related to healthy behavior. We study the impact of offering virtual races to runners on a digital fitness platform on their engagement with the platform and level of physical activity. Leveraging the match of the theme of the virtual races and users’ zodiac signs as the instrument to support causal inference, we find that a virtual race increases the engagement of new users by 42.8 days and total spending on related e-commerce on the platform by 48.4% during our study period. We also find that the positive impact of virtual races transcends the typical mechanism of social connections; results show that virtual races can increase the engagement with the platform even when their social connections are low. Finally, we find that existing users who participate in a virtual race outrun those in the control group by 4.41 km in a three-week period. Our study highlights the potential of new forms of digital interactions, powered by mobile and wearable technologies, on user behavior in fitness platforms. This paper was accepted by Anindya Ghose, information systems. Supplemental Material: The data files and online appendix are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4945 .