On the TechTO stage ×1
First seen on the TechTO stage in 2017. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Marc ↗
In their words
all these question marks for me as an academic, trying to conduct a nice rigorous evaluation
as an academic, developing a regular relationship has been the most important thing from my perspective. Things change so quickly.
Around the web ×3
Quick answers
What was Marc Mitchell's role at Carrot Insights?
Western University's news service (2018-09-20) says the Carrot Rewards app was co-founded by Marc Mitchell, then an assistant professor in Western's School of Kinesiology, and TechTO billed the 2017 HealthTO talk as two co-founders on teamwork. Carrot Insights' own team page, archived 2016-10-29, listed him as Principal Advisor, Behavioural Insights, with the tagline 'Choice Architect, CIHR Fellow, Healthy Living Champion'. Both descriptions are published here because both are sourced.
What does Marc Mitchell do now?
The most recent dated source found is Western News (2023-11-14), which describes him as a kinesiology professor at Western University who studies behavioural science and digital health, and reports a JAMA Network Open study from his group on what happened to step counts after an Ontario rewards app stopped paying. No faculty page or 2025-2026 source was found when this profile was written on 2026-10-18, so the header carries his Carrot title only.
What did his research on Carrot Rewards find?
A 2018 study in JMIR mHealth and uHealth of 32,229 users found loyalty points worth about four cents a day were linked to a five per cent rise in daily steps overall and 21 per cent among the less active half (Western, 2018-09-20). A 12-month follow-up reported in Western News (2020-03-02) found about 60 per cent of users stayed engaged for at least six months and the most committed averaged 1,821 more steps a day.
What happened to Carrot Rewards?
The app shut down on 2019-06-19 after running out of money; its assets were bought by Planswell and then by Optimity, which relaunched it in January 2020. See the Carrot Rewards company page.