Finding truly accurate fitness data insights is often a challenge for business owners. What if someone had analyzed the behavior of 30,000 fitness businesses in over 100 countries?
Well, you’re in luck.
In 2024, the fitness industry is witnessing unprecedented changes, driven by evolving consumer behaviors, rapid technological advancements, and a strong emphasis on social responsibility. For fitness business owners, understanding these shifts and remaining agile is not just advantageous—it’s essential for sustained success.
To help you get a better insight into the world of fitness, we’ve taken a deep dive into the behaviors and data of more than 30,000 clubs in 100 countries to create our ABC Fitness Data Insights Report. 40% of fitness businesses in the US alone trust ABC Fitness to help their business grow, and we’ve used all this insight to discover where the fitness industry is going, and how you can best capitalize on it.
In this report, we’re going to share fitness data insights around:
- The Most Influential Fitness Member Types of 2024
- How to Connect With Gen Z Fitness Enthusiasts
- The Most Popular Modalities For 2024
- Why Boutique Studios Will Have a Record Year
Note: All of the fitness data insights for this article comes from the ABC Fitness Global Industry Trends Report – Which You Can Download Below
Section 1: The Most Influential Fitness Member Types of 2024
For the purpose of our analysis, we’ve split modern fitness members into a number of categories
- Wellness Lovers
- Fitness Explorers
- Routine Lifers
- Casual Consumers
The categories are quite self-explanatory, but you can see a full breakdown of their behavior changes here:
You can get full insight into every demographic and their key motivators by downloading our exclusive January Data Insights report below.
The Rise of Wellness Lovers and Fitness Explorers
The emergence of Wellness Lovers and Fitness Explorers marks a significant shift in consumer priorities. Wellness Lovers integrate fitness with overall well-being, seeking balance in physical, mental, and nutritional health. Fitness Explorers, constantly on the lookout for new and engaging fitness experiences, represent the industry’s adventurous spirit. These personas are not just market segments; they are guiding lights toward the future of fitness offerings.
Interestingly, Wellness Lovers are Millennials and older Gen Z’rs. In comparison to other generations, these two groups prioritize their “total wellness” and will seek modalities that support their needs.
What Does This Mean For Fitness Business Owners?
Focus on creating new experiences and a sense of learning or discovery within your fitness business – this is the best way to build an engaged and active community that keeps coming back for more.
Need help building a fitness community?
Section 2: Gen Z is Here to Mix Things Up
The increasing influence of Gen Z in the fitness market is revolutionizing industry norms. These consumers, known for being active, health-conscious, and socially aware, expect more than just traditional gym experiences. They’re seeking innovative, flexible, and value-driven fitness solutions. Their preferences are reshaping the future of fitness offerings, prompting businesses to adapt and meet these changing expectations.
What Does This Mean For Fitness Business Owners?
Look towards the younger generations to boost your growth and revenue. In doing so, make sure your business offers a more holistic approach to fitness, ensuring that you are catering to the mind and body.
Holistic Health is Here to Stay
Holistic health is no longer just about getting fit, it’s a whole way of life. People are focusing on their physical health, mental well-being, eating habits, and social connections – all at the same time.
This means gyms and fitness businesses need to step up their game. They need to offer more personalized experiences that go beyond the treadmill. Create a fitness offering that gives your members a sense of mental wellbeing, inclusion, and community. Without it, they’ll quickly start to move to competitors that do offer that experience.
Don’t have the tools to analyze your business and plan your next steps?
How to Connect With Gen Z
Fitness is increasingly becoming a platform for social change, with consumers expecting brands to take stances on social issues. This shift represents an opportunity for fitness businesses to build deeper connections with their members, fostering a community that aligns with their values and beliefs, particularly in areas like mental health support, environmental sustainability, and social equity.
According to our latest report, 58% of members and users find it important for their fitness club to embrace social causes. This is a major shift in how people perceive their fitness providers, and it’s important for you to capitalize on this.
What Does This Mean For Fitness Business Owners?
Use your business as a platform for positive change and social movement. Anything from mental health awareness to promoting body positivity, you can use your business to improve your community as a whole.
The Customer
Engagement Playbook
for Your Fitness
Business
Discover more Remember, this is just the summary of our in-depth data insights report, which you can get for free by clicking below.
Section 3: The Most Popular Fitness Modalities of 2024
Digital technology is not just altering the way workouts are performed; it’s revolutionizing the entire fitness experience. From AI-driven personalized training programs to virtual reality fitness adventures, technology is creating new possibilities for engagement and personalization in fitness, making it accessible, enjoyable, and effective for a broader audience.
You’ll see below that the world of fitness is one of the biggest adaptors to modern tech – with everything from wearables to VR headsets taking center stage in a wide variety of modalities. If you’re still filling out member sheets with a pen and paper, or manually storing your payment details – you are wasting valuable time that could be spent somewhere else.
Not sure what the future has in store for you or your fitness business? Then it may be time for you to discover what the ABC Glofox platform can do for you.
The Rise of New Fitness Modalities
Emerging fitness modalities like pickleball, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), and mind-body wellness classes highlight the industry’s dynamic nature. These trends are not merely passing fads but indicate a broader diversification of fitness offerings, which means you as a business owner need to provide more options to your members.
You can see the full spectrum above of popular and unpopular modalities. If you’re looking to add more modalities to your business offering, then this is the list for you.
Want the full report?
Section 4: The Great News – Boutique Business is Booming
Fitness Businesses, particularly boutique fitness businesses, are having a record time.
ABC Fitness’s data reveals a significant resurgence in the fitness industry, with check-ins surging by 90% since pre-pandemic levels – an unprecedented level of growth. This remarkable increase indicates a strong recovery and renewed enthusiasm for in-person fitness experiences, reflecting a broader trend of individuals prioritizing health and wellness post-pandemic.
We are seeing the most active, engaged member base ever, and they are willing to pay more, join more events, and engage more with your community.
If you’re not seeing these changes in your fitness business, then it may be that you need a fitness business platform that can help you engage with this highly motivated customer base.
Despite the broader industry’s positive momentum, there’s a nuanced picture when it comes to membership dynamics within North American gyms. According to ABC Ignite data, while there’s been an 8.2% increase in paying membership accounts compared to the previous year, there has been a noticeable decline in new memberships.
This paradox suggests that while existing members are increasingly loyal and possibly upgrading their memberships, there’s a challenge in attracting new members. The data may reflect market saturation, increased competition, or changing consumer preferences, prompting a need for gyms to innovate and adapt their marketing strategies to attract new clients while retaining existing ones.
What Does This Mean For Fitness Business Owners?
You need to double down on your current member base or create a better business offering than your competitors. As we mentioned above, having a stronger platform that focuses on sincerity and community initiatives can significantly help with attracting new members.
Struggling to engage with your audience?
You’ll love ABC Glofox’s marketing tools
In the US, and for larger gyms, things may be going steadily, but it has been an unprecedented 12 months for boutique fitness studios and gyms.
Our ABC data indicates that studio use has gone up 4%, while group studio use has increased by 5%. With all other facility types seeing either marginal growth or no change at all, this is major news for the smaller fitness businesses out there.
If you’re a boutique fitness business owner, you are perfectly placed within this industry to see growth this year.
What Does This Mean For Fitness Business Owners?
Focus on creating a strong, committed group of members who feel heard, welcomed, and engaged within your fitness business.
Gen Z (and older generations) are placing a strong focus on holistic fitness, so ensure you are including that in all of your business offerings. Ensure that you are highly present on social media and that you have engaging, automated messaging systems in place to keep your members (and future members) up to date and part of the conversation.
Feel like you’re missing the tools to make the most of this trend?
What’s Next for Fitness Businesses in 2024?
Here’s what our data is telling us:
- Boutique studios will continue to thrive in the fitness industry.
- Holistic fitness practices that include mental health, community initiatives, and wellness will be more popular than ever.
- Community-focused group activities, virtual classes, and the invincible pickleball trend are all safe bets for the future.
- Gen Z is willing to spend more and engage more, but you will need to provide more as a business.
Overall, we’re seeing technology and community become the core focuses of every sector of the fitness industry. People want to feel like they belong, and they want to feel like their physical efforts are matched with a full feeling of holistic wellness. If you feel like your business isn’t reaching out to your ideal customer in the right way, we’re here to help
The Customer
Engagement Playbook
for Your Fitness
Business
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