🔎 Navigating a new fitness landscape
How COVID-19 has radically redefined the fitness industry by Tristan Stevens
With vaccination rates increasing, we seem to be amidst a transitory period into the next chapter of “normalcy,” as many of us return to the office a few days a week, send our kids back to school full-time, and fill our calendars once again with social activities.
It seems one area of our lives may never fully revert to “normal,” however: fitness regimens.
Let’s rewind to 2020
While virtual fitness was already a growing category pre-pandemic, the digital fitness space saw unprecedented growth across already established brands as well as brick-and-mortar businesses that were agile enough to convert their offering to an online presence.
Peloton’s success story is well known by now: Its growing business exploded in 2020, generating $607 million in revenue in just a matter of months, while doubling its membership base. In February of 2021, Peloton surpassed $1 billion in quarterly revenue.
Alo Moves of Alo Yoga, an at-home fitness streaming service that launched nearly a decade ago, saw a 300% increase in engagement on its paid platform as well as on its YouTube channel in just a matter of weeks at the start of the pandemic.
There were also victors that quickly adapted their brick-and-mortar offerings to digital ones, like Orange Theory Fitness, which — after shuttering all 1400 locations worldwide — quickly launched a virtual workout app hosting daily at-home workouts while it rode out the storm to maintain connection and loyalty among its customer base.
Fast forward to today
With 80% of fitness consumers now live-streaming workouts — compared with 7% in 2019 according to a Mindbody survey — it’s no surprise we’ve seen record amounts of activity across purchases, downloads, and usage of at-home fitness equipment and virtual streaming apps and platforms in the past year.
According to Healthline Media 2020 saw a 67% increase in the global usage of fitness apps, with 68.7M people in the US using at least one health or fitness app at least once per month.
A recent McKinsey & Company survey indicates that 70% of people who used online fitness programs during the pandemic plan to stick with them long term.
But emerging data from recent months shows interest amongst consumers in getting back into the gym, as they once again seek the routine, social engagement, and human interaction of in-person fitness classes.
A study from Orange Theory Fitness revealed that 7 in 10 Americans say they miss the workout routine they had before COVID-19, and 30% specifically miss exercising in a gym. The findings show that, after over a year of trying to make exercising-at-home work for them, consumers are experiencing “basement burnout,” with almost half suffering from monotony and an overall lack of motivation in their fitness regimes.
Further, per CNBC, online searches for “gym near me” accelerated in May relative to April 2021, returning to all-time high levels dating back to January 2020. As of June 2021, traffic at gyms nationwide was back to 83% of January 2020 levels and down just 6% from the same period in 2019.
ClassPass, which provides access to the world’s largest network of fitness and wellness providers, recently conducted a member survey and found that 9 of the current top 10 experiences getting booked on their app were for in-person classes and appointments. Among users who have returned to class, average usage is 10% higher than it was before the pandemic. A rebound is also evident at Blink Fitness, where sign-ups in July 2021 (normally slow season for gyms) equaled those of January 2020, usually a frenzied month for gym-goers trying to make good on New Year’s resolutions.
The most interesting data of all, however, which points to the future of the fitness industry becoming a hybrid model, is that 9 in 10 US adults say they plan to return to a gym but will also continue at-home workouts per a survey conducted by The Beachbody Company.
With these radical shifts shaping up a new landscape for the fitness industry, what can brands learn from new consumer behaviors and industry trends, developed over the past year, to apply to both virtual and physical products and services? And how should they navigate this new normal?
Virtual fitness has accelerated the importance of accessibility and versatility
No matter how fit one might be or what their preference for workouts, fitness has become more accessible than ever, with digital streaming platforms offering everything from high-intensity interval training and strength training to yoga and cycling sessions all in one place. Not to mention the endless number of free workouts available on YouTube and other social media channels. All of which allows consumers to avoid fatigue and keep their workouts fresh but has also set the bar high in terms of their expectations for variety moving forward.
For brands: How might your product offering evolve to deliver the varied fitness experiences consumers have come to expect?
Consumers are prioritizing their health more than ever and thinking about it more holistically, investing in both physical and mental well-being
Since April 2021, ClassPass found that self-care topped the list of customer needs with “massage” being one of the top 10 reservation types on the app, and one-third of credits being spent on wellness and beauty services, including massages, facials, manicures, haircuts, and more. In the first 11 months of 2020, Calm brought in $99.4 million in revenue with a little over 28 million installs, according to estimates from Sensor Tower.
For brands: How might your product or service deliver or complement holistic well-being?
Convenience continues to be essential
Whether it’s because of working from home, child care responsibilities or a busy schedule, people are finding time to work out whenever they can, even if that’s just 10 minutes here and there. The data supports this, with an increase by 76% in search growth year-over-year for “short workouts.” FWIW, researchers found that a 10-minute workout with just 1 minute at high intensity had the same benefits as 45 minutes of steady cycling, per Women’s Health magazine
For brands: How might your product or service provide consumers with the flexibility to adapt to their evolving routines?
Performance and health data tracking is not just desired, it’s expected
The wearable technology market is forecast to be a $70 billion market by 2025, up 114% vs 2019 as wearable technology shifts from “nice-to-haves” to “must-haves,” per Healthline Media consumers are looking to tap into all areas of their health and wellness — be that training, nutrition, mindfulness, sleep, and/or recovery, to truly understand and learn about their health and well-being. They’re relying on these analytics to inform everyday decisions and lifestyle choices and have come to expect a truly unique and personalized experience.
For brands: How might you provide a more data-driven offering to appeal to this increased desire for self-and health-awareness?
What will the rest of 2021 hold for the fitness industry? We’ll have to wait and see. I personally will be following these trends closely, observing from both my Peloton bike and my outdoor Barry’s Bootcamp classes. 🤓 💪
