Last Thursday Weight Watchers International (NYSE: WTW) announced a new subscription plan that pairs a new Apple Watch Series 2 with a Weight Watchers OnlinePlus membership. After an initial payment of $99.95, members pay $8.07 per week, or $34.95 a month, for the next 12 months. An OnlinePlus membership without the Apple Watch is $3.30 per week for a 3-month plan or $4.84 per week for a 1-month plan.
The benefit to members is that they get all of the features of Weight Watchers’ OnlinePlus program, but with personalized, portable tools via the Apple Watch and the OnlinePlus app. For example, subscribers can earn FitPoints when wearing their Apple watch to record jogging, swimming or walking activities.
Members can optimize their workouts by checking their heart rate on the Apple Watch, and they can sync their step counts to OnlinePlus automatically with Apple Health. They also receive daily motivation through badges and messages and helpful reminders to keep them accountable.
“At Weight Watchers, we understand that each member’s journey is unique and the more personalized the tools and support can be, the better,” said Stacey Mowbray, President of Americas at Weight Watchers International in a statement.
“By offering an Apple Watch paired with our OnlinePlus plan, we’re making tracking tools and essential information available on the member’s wrist, which comes in handy when you want to voice search for food and activity, check your SmartPoints total for the day or see how close you are to reaching your activity goal without picking up your iPhone,” Mowbray added.
Under the new Apple Watch Subscription Plan, members can follow the OnlinePlus program completely online through the mobile app, giving them full access to digital tools including the SmartPoints food plan, tailored activity goals, a personalized program that fits each member’s lifestyle, goals and challenges, a 24/7 chat support from a trained weight loss coach, and access to Connect, a community of Weight Watchers members.
The 38mm Apple Watch Series 2 comes in four finishes (silver aluminum, space gray aluminum, gold aluminum and rose gold aluminum) and in a sport band or woven nylon bland. To use this watch, members must have an iPhone 5, 5c, 5s, SE, 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 7 or 7 Plus and iOS 10 or later. According to the Weight Watchers website, watches ship in three to four weeks.
Members save about $125, including the waiver of a $20 starter fee. Let the buyer beware though. Early cancellation fees apply. If a subscriber cancels in the first month, there is a $304 cancellation fee to pay for the watch. Each month thereafter, that total is reduced by $25.33 if the subscription plan is cancelled. After the initial installment plan, Weight Watchers’ standard cancellation policy applies. Subscribers should read the fine print of all cancellation policies before signing up.
Insider Take:
With the new year and health and fitness resolutions just around the corner, the timing for the launch of the Weight Watchers Apple Watch Subscription Plan is ideal. Pricing seems fair, and because it is offered on a subscription basis, it makes the watch affordable for some who may not have purchased it otherwise.
The one aspect of this plan we don’t like is the cancellation policy. We understand the need to cover the cost of the watch, but cancellation policies should always be very clear. Subscribers to the standard OnlinePlus membership have to go to a landing page first and then select “continue” to find out pricing.
The plans are offered side by side, but potential subscribers can only view details of one plan – including the final cost – at a time, and the payment terms and cancellation policy are in fine print at the bottom, underneath bold text that says NO ANNUAL CONTRACT. EASY TO CANCEL. This information should be easy to find and easy to read. We think Weight Watchers could improve this aspect of the subscription experience.