Science Backs WeWard: Digital Nudges Proven to Boost Walking and Reduce Car Use

New research highlights how digital nudging apps like WeWard can promote healthier lifestyles and more sustainable mobility habits.

NEW YORK, Sept. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- WeWard, the lifestyle app backed by Venus Williams motivating 25 million people to walk, today announced the results of a landmark peer-reviewed study published in Transport Policy. Conducted by research firm 6t, the study provides some of the most comprehensive evidence to date that digital nudges can successfully foster healthier lifestyles, while reducing reliance on emission-based transportation.

Founded in 2019, WeWard is the free lifestyle app rewarding users for their daily walking activity, bringing a new kind of gamified approach to exercise motivation. Each day, users are reminded to convert their daily steps, which they can later redeem for incentives like cash deposits, charity donations, or retail gifts, as well as partake in a variety of social challenges.

Findings from the new study were conducted in France and based on a random sample of 94,482 active WeWard users observed over a 15-month period, alongside survey responses collected from 42,403 participants who were rewarded 150 Wards (WeWard's form of digital 'coins') for their input. Researchers concluded that:

• WeWard boosts walking activity: WeWard users increase their daily walking distance by an average of 20%+ after downloading the app.
• WeWard reduces car trips: For every 100 kilometers walked with WeWard, 16 kilometers are either newly generated or substituted from another mode of transport, with 7 kilometers directly replacing car trips.
• WeWard's impact remains consistent: Effects were consistent across time, cohorts, and geographies, underscoring WeWard's durable impact.

The results underscore how gamified exercise apps like WeWard can foster healthier, more sustainable mobility habits, and in doing so, play a major role in tackling critical public health challenges while simultaneously reducing emissions.

"Physical inactivity is one of the greatest public health issues of our time, while car dependency continues to fuel the climate crisis. This study confirms that simple, accessible digital tools like WeWard can drive meaningful change on both fronts," said Yves Benchimol, CEO and Co-Founder of WeWard. "We hope these findings prompt more policy makers to view gamified digital tools as legitimate, meaningful enablers of change."

Nicolas Louvet, CEO and founder of 6t, added: "Our research provides some of the strongest evidence to date that digital nudges, as applied through apps like WeWard, can shift mobility behaviors at the population level. Implementing behavior change programs leveraging these technologies can introduce more human-based approaches to climate and public health reform."

These findings come at a time when inactivity is at an all-time high, affecting 81% of adolescents according to the WHO, while transportation remains a leading source of CO2 emissions. To date, WeWard users have helped offset over 750,000 tons of CO2 from walking activity generated.

The study, which will be available on Transport Policy for free access until October 21st, is part of WeWard's broader efforts to deepen collaborations with researchers and policymakers to explore how digital incentives can support public health, urban planning, and climate-friendly solutions.

About WeWard
Founded in 2019 by Yves Benchimol, WeWard is a free mobile app designed to make walking a more rewarding part of people's lives. Through gamifying and socializing the step count, the app rewards users for their daily walking activity through incentives such as cash deposits, gift purchases, charity donations, and a variety of social and community-based features. More than 25M users have signed up to join the platform, which has been shown to increase user walking time by nearly 25%. It is available in 29 countries across the globe. To learn more, visit https://www.wewardapp.com/.

About 6t
Founded in 2002, 6t-bureau de recherche is a French independent research and consultancy office specializing in urban mobility, transportation, and public policy. Its work combines qualitative and quantitative methods such as surveys, interviews, fieldwork and econometric modelling, to analyze how people move and how policies shape mobility behaviors. 6t supports public authorities, transport operators and private actors in designing strategies for sustainable and inclusive mobility, with expertise ranging from cycling and shared mobility to electric vehicles and accessibility. The two teams, based in Paris and Geneva, are recognized for producing rigorous, policy-oriented studies that bridge academic research and practical decision-making. To learn more, visit https://www.6-t.co/

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SOURCE WeWard