The data: Some 76% of US adults say health and wellness videos influence their health-related purchase decisions at least sometimes, including 19% who say they often do, according to an April survey of 500 US adults by The Measure and Tubular Labs, conducted by MX8 Labs shared with EMARKETER.

Skincare (46%), general wellness and supplements (43%), sleep (35%), and pain management (32%) were among the top content categories driving purchase decisions. For this survey, social videos included any video content from brands, creators, partners, and advertisers on social media.

Why it matters: Health video content is becoming a primary research channel, and YouTube owns it. Some 66% of US adults who look up health-related information on social media use YouTube, while 36% use TikTok, according to EMARKETER’s January 2026 US Digital Health survey. Reinforcing this dominance, YouTube was also named the most preferred platform for health video viewing by The Measure and Tubular Lab, cited by 70% of respondents. Other social video platform preferences varied by age: younger people ages 18 to 29 prefer Instagram (66%) and TikTok (56%), while baby boomers prefer Facebook (67%) for health-related videos.

When it comes to what people are watching on social videos, their viewing skews toward self care: 59% watch general wellness and supplement social videos, followed by skincare (52%), weight loss and GLP-1 (51%), sleep problems (47%), and mind-body wellness like yoga or meditation (46%), per The Measure and Tubular Lab survey.

Plus, digital video is converting where TV doesn’t. US consumers are 2.5 times more likely to buy from brands they encounter through digital video interactions than from those they encounter on broadcast or cable TV, according to a June 2025 BCG analysis. The added social context from comments, influencers, and community interactions can build trust through transparency and reduce purchase hesitation.

Implications for healthcare and health and wellness brands: Health purchases now follow the same video-led discovery path consumers use everywhere else, with shoppers pulling information, reviews, recommendations, and product experiences from social feeds. For brands, providing information is no longer enough. They must also create credible, engaging video content that can earn attention and trust in social feeds crowded with creator content, personal experiences, and competing product claims.

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