Why Canadians keep buying longevity products even when they don’t work

The global longevity market is seemingly booming in 2026. From biological age tests and nutritional supplements (including novel food selection strategies) to peptide therapies and personalised wellness programs, consumers are increasingly spending money in pursuit of healthier ageing and longer lives. Yet new survey findings suggest a surprising consumer behaviour: many people who fail to see any benefit from a longevity product do not stop spending. Instead, they often move on to the next product and, in many cases, spend even more money.

For Canadian consumers, the trend raises important questions about how health claims are evaluated, how products are marketed, and whether consumers have realistic expectations about what longevity interventions can achieve.

According to a survey conducted by Hint App involving 16,284 adults across multiple regions, including Canada, 61 percent of respondents reported purchasing at least one longevity or anti-ageing product from which they noticed no effect. Despite this apparent disappointment, 57 percent of those individuals subsequently purchased another longevity product or treatment. Furthermore, about 40 percent made that follow-up purchase within one month, while 34 percent spent more on the next purchase than on the product that failed to deliver noticeable results.

The challenge of measuring longevity

One explanation lies in the nature of longevity itself. Unlike products that deliver immediate and measurable outcomes, such as pain relief medications or fitness equipment, many longevity products claim to affect processes that unfold over years or even decades.

Consumers may be told that a supplement supports cellular health, reduces oxidative stress, promotes healthy ageing, or enhances metabolic resilience. While these claims may sound persuasive, they are often difficult for individuals to verify through day-to-day experience.

The survey found that 46 percent of people who later abandoned a longevity purchase had not known beforehand how they would determine whether it was working. In effect, many buyers entered the transaction without a clear success criterion.

This uncertainty can create a situation where consumers attribute a lack of results not to the product category itself, but to the specific product selected. Rather than concluding that the concept is flawed, consumers may assume they simply chose the wrong intervention.

A growing market in Canada

Canada has become an increasingly important market for wellness and healthy ageing products. An ageing population, growing interest in preventative healthcare, and widespread exposure to social media influencers have combined to increase consumer interest in longevity-related services.

One driver for this is because many in the population are increasingly interested in maintaining independence, reducing disease risk, and improving quality of life as they age. However, scientific evidence varies considerably between products and interventions. While some lifestyle measures, such as regular exercise, smoking cessation, adequate sleep, and healthy diet patterns, have substantial evidence supporting their health benefits, many commercial longevity products rely on more limited data. For consumers, distinguishing between evidence-based interventions and marketing-driven claims can be difficult.

Behavioural psychology offers several explanations for why spending may persist even after disappointment. First, there is the issue of delayed outcomes. Longevity products often promise benefits that are inherently difficult to observe in the short term. A person may conclude that results simply require more time.

Second, consumers may experience what psychologists call “sunk cost effects.” After investing money and effort into improving their health, abandoning the broader goal can feel like admitting failure. Purchasing another product can reinforce a sense of continued commitment to personal wellbeing. Third, the longevity marketplace constantly introduces new technologies, biomarkers, supplements, and treatment concepts. Each new product may be presented as more advanced or more scientifically grounded than previous options.

For many consumers, the next purchase becomes an opportunity to find the solution that the previous product supposedly failed to provide.

A key issue is that longevity remains scientifically complex. Researchers continue to investigate biological processes associated with ageing, including cellular senescence, mitochondrial function, inflammation and other factors. While scientific understanding has advanced considerably, translating laboratory discoveries into consumer products is not straightforward.

This creates a gap between scientific research and commercial application. Products may be marketed using language derived from legitimate scientific findings while providing benefits that are difficult to measure outside controlled studies. As a result, consumers often find themselves evaluating products without objective benchmarks.

The Hint App findings suggest that uncertainty itself may be driving continued spending behaviour. When consumers are unsure how success should be measured, dissatisfaction may not necessarily discourage future purchases.

What Canadians should look for

For Canadian consumers considering longevity products, several questions may help guide decision-making:

1. What outcome am I expecting?

Before making a purchase, it is helpful to identify how success would be measured. Is the goal improved energy, better sleep, a laboratory biomarker change, or a longer-term health outcome?

2. Is there scientific evidence?

Consumers should look for peer-reviewed research rather than relying solely on testimonials, influencer endorsements, or company-sponsored claims.

3. Who regulates the product?

In Canada, many health products fall under oversight from Health Canada, but consumers should understand that approval pathways vary depending on product type.

4. Is the claim realistic?

Products promising dramatic age reversal or extraordinary health improvements should be approached cautiously.

5. What is the opportunity cost?

Spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on speculative interventions may divert resources from lifestyle changes that are already known to improve long-term health.

However, such questions bear out,the longevity sector will likely continue growing as scientific discoveries, digital health tools, and personalised medicine become increasingly integrated into consumer healthcare. Yet the survey findings highlight an important reality of this expanding market: consumer behaviour is not always driven by measurable success.

Instead, uncertainty about how to judge effectiveness may actually encourage continued spending.