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Grow Your Gym: Capitalize on Fitness Business Trends

Understanding the latest fitness industry trends can help you make smart decisions for your gym.

Gym Owners & Fitness Professionals
5 min readNovember 27th, 2023
AWWritten By Ashley Walton

We’ve compiled stats, facts, and fitness industry trends to empower you to grow your memberships, increase profits, and retain members.

Leverage 2023 Fitness Trends

A big fitness industry trend for 2023: fitness wearable technology, including the rising popularity of fitness tracker jewelry. People want to monitor their progress, connect their fitness trackers with apps and equipment, and engage with virtual communities.

Other big fitness industry trends center on strength training, functional fitness, and getting expert instruction from fitness professionals and personal trainers.

The biggest 2023 fitness trends, in order of popularity:

  • Wearable fitness technology
  • Strength training with free weights
  • Body weight training
  • Fitness programs for older adults
  • Functional fitness training
  • Outdoor activities
  • High-intensity interval training (HIIT)
  • Exercise for weight loss
  • Employing certified fitness professionals
  • Personal training

Increase Profits from Fitness Market Growth

Despite some ups and downs for gyms, the fitness industry has seen growth since 2019. We all know as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we saw a decline in in-person gym attendance and a dramatic increase of demand for at-home fitness programs and equipment. However, gyms are bouncing back, especially as people see the need for expert instruction, personalized training, and nutritional guidance.

Fitness market growth trends:

  • Projected total fitness market value: $430B by 2028
  • Fitness industry has grown 77% since 2019
  • Demand of niche fitness offerings have increased 35% YoY
  • At-home fitness equipment has increased 200% YoY
  • Online fitness courses demand has increased 132%+ YoY
  • Belief personal trainers and nutritionist are important for hitting fitness goals increased 90% YoY

Increase Value of Gym Goers

Boosting gym attendance and tapping into your current gym members can maximize profits. Focus on fostering a supportive community where members can connect with one another and feel incentivized to go to the gym.

Gym goer stats:

  • Americans spend more than $35 billion a year on gym memberships
  • More than a 5th of Americans belong to a gym
  • Health club memberships have grown by 28% over last decade
  • 45% of gym members pay less than $30/mo
  • 10% of gym members live with someone they met at a gym
  • 52% of gym members have their own equipment at home

Gym attendance stats:

  • 50% of gym members go to the gym 2X a week or more
  • # of US gym visits reached 6.7 billion in 2019
  • In 2019, 27.3 million members went to the gym more than 100X a year

Improve Member Engagement

Focus on what your members care about to keep them motivated and happy over time. Continually improving member engagement and experience will ensure your members keep coming back to the gym.

Consider offering in-person and on-demand classes, creating events and challenges for members to socialize, and finding ways to engage with your members through an app, leaderboards, community forum, or other means of communication.

Member engagement stats:

  • 32% of people to to the gym to lose weight
  • Gym members say time constraints is biggest hurdle
  • 50% of gym-goers claim they go to the gym to check out members of the opposite sex
  • 40% of gym members enroll in classes
  • 44% of gym goers prefer working out with a partner
  • 46% of men and 43% of women rely on their smartphones at the gym
  • 30% of members spend more time socializing with other members than working out

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Retain Members

Retaining your members is the best way to maximize your revenue. In fact, a 5% increase in member retention can increase profits 25-95% for gyms.

Find ways to interact with your members outside the gym, such as through text, apps, forums, email, or social media. Help your members set and track goals, so they feel motivated to keep on track with their fitness goals. Offer classes and events for gym members to keep them happy and engaged.

Member retention stats:

  • Average gym member keeps their membership for 4.7 years
  • A 5% increase in member retention can increase profits 25-95% for gyms
  • Location is the primary reason why members stay
  • 2 interactions a month can reduce membership cancellations by 33%
  • About 94% of members who set goals remain active 9 months
  • Almost 44% of gym members attend less than once a week by their 6th month
  • 50% of gym members quit in the first 6 months

Get the Right Equipment

Many people keep their gym memberships because they want access to quality equipment. It’s important to keep up with the kinds of equipment your members want to use, so they don’t leave to find it elsewhere.

Gym equipment trends:

  • 38% of members stay at a gym because of the equipment
  • Top 3 equipment growth opportunities over next decade: rowers, treadmills, free weights
  • Around 28.3 million gym members use a treadmill per year
  • From, 2010 to 2019, top gym equipments were treadmills, resistance machines, and free weights

Offer Virtual Classes or App

Many gym members care about attending both in-person and virtual classes. Offering classes or an app provides other opportunities to offer additional value and engage with members. Plus, classes offer an opportunity for members to foster community and connections with each other.

Virtual gym classes and app trends:

  • 75% of people who use virtual fitness also attend in-person classes
  • Gyms and studios that offer virtual workouts increase in-person attendance by 12%
  • More than half of online fitness users go to the gym 3X a week and spend more than average members
  • 72% of fitness club owners have started on-demand or live streaming workouts

Offer Most Popular Online Class Bookings

  • Yoga- 32%
  • HIIT- 16%
  • Pilates- 8%
  • Barre- 8%

Most Popular Gyms by Members Globally

The most popular gyms are popular for a reason: usually because they have many locations, lots of equipment and classes, and many ways to engage with members and foster loyalty.

Most popular gyms globally:

  • Planet Fitness - 17M
  • HILLeFit - 10M
  • Anytime Fitness - 3.9M
  • Smart Fit - 3.8M
  • Basic-Fit - 3.4M
  • Crunch Fitness - 2.2M
  • 24 Hour Fitness - 2.14M
  • Powerhouse Gyms International - .18M
  • PureGym - 1.67M
  • Life Time Fitness - 1.4M

Bottom Line

By staying ahead of fitness trends and catering to your members’ needs, you can maximize your profits. Find ways to engage with your members outside the gym, offer ways for members to socialize and connect with each other, and offer the classes and equipment that people want to keep them coming back over time.

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