Fitness Industry Roundup: The Future Looks Promising

Understanding consumers and meeting—if not exceeding—expectations are essential to any successful business. Surveys and interviews can tell a lot about what needs improvement, things that are missing, where opportunities exist, and so on. This week’s Fitness Industry Roundup puts the spotlight on several stories that highlight how consumers feel about health, fitness, and wellness and what lies ahead for the fitness industry.

Before we get into the data and the future of fitness and wellness, let’s take a look at one company that deserves recognition for its achievements.

Global Franchise Awards Names 9Round as 2021 Best Fitness Franchise

IHRSA member, 9Round Franchising, LLC, the world’s largest kickboxing franchise, has been crowned the 2021 Global Franchise Award for Best Fitness Franchise. Shannon Hudson, founder and CEO of 9Round, said, “As we seek new opportunities in 2021 and continue to grow the brand’s presence, it’s only a matter of time before people in all corners of the world can access 9Round to become ‘stronger in 30 minutes.’” In 2020, 9Round launched a partnership with Walmart, released 9RoundNOW, an app that provides on-demand, trainer-led kickboxing style workouts, expanded its international network by two countries, and reinforced the executive team at headquarters.

Read the full release.

McKinsey Survey Depicts Consumer Needs & Wants for Wellness

The Future of Wellness survey, conducted by McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, reveals consumer attitudes and behaviors toward wellness. The survey responses—from roughly 7,500 consumers in six countries—indicate a healthy and growing global wellness market. As featured on the company’s website, the survey reveals how consumers define wellness and consumer trends and how companies can respond to them. The authors note, “Wellness is here to stay as consumers across nations plan to increase their spending on personal health, appearance, fitness, and more. If the pandemic has taught us one thing, it’s that physical and mental health will remain a priority for millions of people across the globe for a long time to come.”

Read the entire article.

The Future of Fitness Through the Lens of 10 Personal Trainers

In a Marie Claire article, 10 personal trainers answer what they believe fitness will look like following the reopening of gyms. From the interviews, the trainers expect the following to impact fitness in the future:

• A physical and digital hybrid will continue to evolve,
• People will remember the joy of the in-studio feeling,
• More people will be working out full stop,
• Gyms and platforms will need to offer mental fitness options, too,
• Flexible working = flexible working out, and more.

“There were 1.5 billion video-on-demand users in 2020 and, according to the Digital Market Outlook, there will be approximately 2 billion by 2025,” said Chiara Lewis, personal trainer and founder of TotalBody Studio. “Stats also show that there were over 14 million fitness apps downloaded globally in January 2021.”

Learn more about what the trainers have to say.

Gympass Report Identified Positive Fitness & Wellness Trends in 2020

Gympass, a corporate well-being platform that helps employees of corporate partners find activities and an IHRSA member, released a report that unveils people’s fitness and well-being tendencies from nine countries. Findings from the report, “What a year of COVID-19 has taught us about stress and adaptability,” were featured in Club Industry. The data shows that physical activity levels in 2020 increased for both those who were previously active or inactive. Also included in the report are popular times when people get in their workout, the top activities, and statistics on mental health support. “Through this report, we were able to see firsthand exactly how much fitness and well-being supported people through this difficult time and also what people want and need more of,” said Gympass Vice President Massi Sardi.

Find out more about Gympass’s report.

Echelon Fitness & Concierge Health Collaborate to Reward Insurance Policyholders

According to a joint release featured on PR Newswire, Echelon Fitness Multimedia LLC, a leader in at-home connected fitness, and Concierge Health, a wellness company focused on enhancing consumer health and wellness experiences, teamed up to establish a fitness incentive program for insurance policyholders and corporate wellness program members. The program seeks to make positive health outcomes more attainable, sustainable, and rewarding by tracking physical fitness activities and incentivizing members with reduced insurance premiums or monetary rewards. "At Echelon we know that engaging in physical activity has benefits far beyond what is simply seen in the mirror and now our members could see rewards as a part of their health insurance," said Lou Lentine, president and CEO of Echelon.

Learn more about Echelon and Concierge Health’s program.

Has your health or fitness-related business been featured in the news recently? We want to know! Send a link to any news article or video that highlighted your business to pr@ihrsa.org, and we may include it in a future issue of the Fitness Industry Roundup.