Preventive health checkups online to grow 50% in demand in Jan-March led by tax-related declarations: Simpl Checkout Scan

Bengaluru, February 22nd, 2024: With millions of salaried employees across the country making their investment and expense declarations to save on taxes starting January, there has been a 50% increase in consumers opting for preventive health checkups for themselves and their parents which are eligible for tax deduction, according to insights from Simpl Checkout Scan. This growth in bookings made via Simpl’s 1-Tap Checkout across enterprise and Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) brands is expected to continue throughout till the end of the financial year as consumers have also become conscious about their health post-COVID-19 and are actively spending in preventive health checkups.

According to Simpl, India’s foremost Checkout Network, lifestyle-based checkups including diabetes, vitamins and hairfall apart from comprehensive full-body checkups are the most preferred by consumers. These consumers are going online to get their health checkups done seamlessly and affordably from the comfort of their living rooms through merchants including Apollo 24|7, Netmeds, Pharmeasy and Tata 1Mg. The spike in demand for health checkups, in particular, is further leading to an increase in average order value (AOV) which grew by 35% in January.

At the forefront of this surge in preventive healthcare is Apollo 24|7, witnessing over 40% growth in total checkout volume in January 2024 as against January 2023 via Simpl 1-Tap Checkout. Through its range of comprehensive services, from convenient home sample pickups to post check-up doctor consultations, Apollo 24|7 is making preventive care accessible and affordable for consumers across the country.

While consumers from metros constitute a majority of the demand share, there is a significant surge in demand from tier-2,3 cities with internet penetration and an increased level of awareness about healthcare services and the tax benefits associated with it. Apart from health checkups, even D2C brands such as Myfrido, Healthfarm, Mosaic, Scitron, Get My Mettle and Wellversed are witnessing increased consumer demand for wellness based products.

Commenting on this trend, Ashwini Ravindranath, Vice-President, Partner Success at Simpl, said ‘In the midst of tax declaration season, salaried employees are increasingly investing in preventive checkups for themselves and for their kin in order to optimise their tax savings. We are witnessing a 50% increase in consumer spends for these services in January and February and the growth is expected to continue till March as companies seek details of investment and expense declarations for calculation of TDS. Using Simpl’s 1-Tap Checkout, salaried employees are increasingly availing these services across our merchant partners including Apollo 24|7, Netmeds, Pharmeasy and Tata1mg in the JFM quarter.”

Over the last few years, an increasing number of healthcare merchants have been participating with Simpl to offer a seamless checkout experience to millions of their customers. Apollo 24|7 partnered with Simpl in June 2022 and has witnessed over 20% improvement in conversions over the years.

Shamik Banerjee, Chief Marketing Officer of Apollo 24/7 said, “Post Covid we have seen a fundamental shift in consumer behaviour towards health management. We usually see a spike in demand for health packages in the months of January, February and March driven by tax benefits, new year resolutions and impact of festive and holiday season on health. The doctor curated packages on Apollo 24|7 platform has seen a significant uptake and likes from the wellness seekers who strive to stay ahead of the health curve. These packages are made by the super speciality Apollo doctors based on collective expertise to make sure we have the right number of tests as required under each package. They are made available under a single entity online along with the checkout convenience of Simpl’s 1-Tap, we are happy to evolve as the preferred platform for customers.”

He also added that women, in particular, are increasingly choosing checkups for thyroid, Vitamin D and Cancer Marker across the country.

According to a report by strategy consulting firm RedSeer Strategy Consultants in collaboration with Chiratae Ventures, India’s preventive healthcare sector is projected to reach $197 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 22 per cent propelled by the growing awareness about disease prevention and immunity boosting post COVID-19 pandemic.