Wellness has become a mainstream retail category spanning supplements, nutrition, fitness, and longevity, and the sources consumers trust for guidance have shifted dramatically. Now, influencers and AI tools drive more wellness decisions than physicians. While that creates an opening for brands, it also devises a credibility problem.

This FAQ covers who influences the wellness shopper, where they buy, and how brands should market responsibly in 2026.

What is wellness marketing?

Wellness marketing spans products and services that support physical and mental health, from supplements and nutrition to fitness, sleep, and longevity. The category has expanded from specialty health stores into mass retail and social commerce as consumers redefine health around daily habits rather than periodic medical care.

Brands and retailers are redesigning their offerings for wellness-conscious shoppers as the wellness movement reshapes the relationship between consumers and the traditional healthcare industry, per EMARKETER's Behind the Numbers podcast. EMARKETER's Health and Wellness 2026 report frames the defining dynamic: consumers are primarily getting their wellness advice online, forcing brands to rethink how they establish credibility.

Who influences consumers' wellness decisions?

The echo chamber of online sources is carrying more weight in wellness decisions than advice garnered through the traditional doctor-patient relationship. Consumers are now turning to social media influencers, both credentialed medical professionals and uncredentialed creators, and AI tools for guidance on diet, nutrition, wellness, longevity, and supplements, according to a March 2026 Edelman survey cited by EMARKETER.

The generational gap on how much creators and influencers impact wellness decisions is substantial. For instance, Gen Zers and millennials are about 3 times more likely than Gen Xers and older generations (20% versus 7%) to say creators and influencers shape their views on protein consumption, per a February 2026 survey from The New Consumer and Coefficient Capital cited in the same article.

For wellness brands, this can create a two-step path to purchase. Creators and AI tools may put a new supplement, diet, or wellness-related product on a consumer’s radar, but discovery does not equate to trust. Before buying, consumers may still turn to physicians, dieticians, and other credentialed experts to determine whether a product is safe and its claims hold up. A creator can spark interest, but a clinical voice can supply the reassurance that converts that interest into a purchase.

Where are consumers buying wellness products?

Social platforms have evolved into a channel where consumers buy wellness products, not just learn about them. TikTok Shop is the fourth-largest health and beauty ecommerce retailer in the US, per NIQ data cited by EMARKETER, and vitamins and supplements are the largest subcategory within health and beauty on the platform.

The pattern connects discovery and purchase: the same feeds where influencers shape wellness opinions now close the sale without a store visit or pharmacy consultation. For wellness brands, this collapses the funnel into a single creator-driven moment, raising the stakes on both content quality and product claims.

What risks does the wellness boom create for brands and consumers?

Online channels often place health advice and sales pitches side-by-side, making it harder for consumers to determine credible guidance from a marketing veneer, fueling a surge in misleading claims and unregulated merchandise:

• Deceptive and illegal products: Recent examples include products falsely marketed as GLP-1 medications, scam health ads on Facebook promoting supplements with deceptive medical claims, and illegal promotion and sale of peptides on social media, per EMARKETER.
• Clinicians cleaning up. Nearly 9 in 10 physicians (89%) have had to correct false or misleading information about supplements that patients encountered online, per a December 2025 Tebra survey cited in the same article.
• Unguided choices. About 75% of providers say patients choose supplements independently or from online sources rather than with professional guidance, per Tebra.

This saturation of vague and deceptive claims can make consumers more skeptical of the category as a whole. For legitimate wellness brands, clear product claims supported by credible medical expert guidance are not just compliance considerations: they are essential to earning consumer trust.

How is the fitness side of wellness changing?

Fitness companies are looking beyond the initial device sale for growth. As hardware sales stall, more companies are pivoting to a subscription model, offering AI coaching, personalized plans and community features to keep users engaged, per EMARKETER.

The device still matters, but it increasingly serves as the starting point for a stickier customer relationship. For marketers, making the sale is only the first step. Bands must also give subscribers a reason to keep returning, whether through useful coaching, progress tracking, fresh content, or connections with other users.

How should wellness brands market in 2026?

The takeaway from EMARKETER's Health and Wellness 2026 analysis is straightforward: Brands need to give consumers a reason to trust them.

That means:

• Show how wellness products can work alongside traditional care. Rather than present products such as wearables or supplements as alternative medicine, demonstrate how they can support established care, like driving behavioral change or integrating safely alongside medications, per EMARKETER.
• Bring physicians into the conversation. Partner with clinicians as trusted brand advocates who can explain how products fit broader wellness goals, such as nutrition support for GLP-1 users. In a category where many brands position against mainstream medicine, physician endorsement reinforces safety and long-term trust.
• Invest in credentialed creators. With influencers and AI outweighing doctors in influence, brands should prioritize credentialed voices who carry both reach and authority.
• Back up the claims. Medical-level validation sets brands apart in a market saturated with dubious marketing claims.

We prepared this article with the assistance of generative AI tools and stand behind its accuracy, quality, and originality.

EMARKETER forecast data was current at publication and may have changed. EMARKETER clients have access to up-to-date forecast data. To explore EMARKETER solutions, click here.