Target will offer Fitbit activity trackers to 335,000 of its employees free of charge, . The program, aimed at improving fitness and lowering the cost of health insurance for its workers, is linked to Fitbit’s efforts to expand its corporate customer base. This week, Fitbit announced that it will expand its compliance with the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in an effort to improve the process of gathering Fitbit data for corporate health insurers, .
Data collected on Fitbit’s clip-on tracker, called a Zip, will be used to organize Target employees into teams that can compete for the highest activity level, according to Bloomberg. Prizes include a $1 million donation to a charity of the team’s choice.
Amy McDonough, director of Fitbit Wellness, the company’s corporate fitness branch, told Bloomberg that Appirio, a Fitbit customer, reduced its health costs by 6 percent during the first year of using Fitbit’s wearables.
“The cost of a Fitbit device,” James Park, CEO and co-founder of Fitbit, told Bloomberg, “is very small compared to the savings from a healthier employee population.”