The New Era of Fitness: Prioritizing Flexibility and Innovation

Fitness is an industry predicated on individual transformation and the journey to health and wellness. In parallel, the survival of fitness as an industry also requires transformation – the transformation of the business itself to meet consumers’ needs. No year had a louder call for change than 2020, and it’s now time to strategically apply what we’ve heard. 

As more people realize the importance of exercise and fitness on longevity and quality of life, and as technology advances to enhance those imperatives, the fitness industry will continue to lead the way in delivering consumer-centric solutions. We’ve learned that consumers want choice – choice about how they exercise, when they exercise, and where they exercise. For fitness operators, this means delivering a blend of in-person and digital services. 

Welcome to the era of hybridization.

Two Halves Make a Bigger Whole

?It wasn’t that long ago when brick-and-mortar stores had to create an online presence to remain competitive. Now that consumers have embraced greater choice in how they research, select, purchase, obtain and consume products and services, the fitness industry has begun to adapt too. If the pandemic taught us anything in the digital age, it was the need to be flexible and prioritize innovation.

 My colleague Shannon Fable, director of content and production strategy for Intelivideo, recently said this about innovation: “While it doesn't mean abandoning your core, it does require you to rethink business models, resource new talent, and re-imagine who and how you serve. And it feels a bit risky. But, the rewards will be worth it.”

We’ve seen these rewards all across the fitness industry because smart operators are meeting customers where they like to sweat. Recent research on consumer trends revealed that the pandemic prompted 76% of all consumers to move to at-home exercise. What may surprise you is that 66% claim they now prefer it. For Intelivideo, this shift has been a sweet validation and business boom.

 From 2019 to 2020, we reported a 145% increase in sales, our most successful year to date. We also saw active subscribers to Intelivideo platforms increase by 90%, while the hours of video watched across all platforms (browser, mobile browser, and apps) increased by 125%. In addition, distinct user count across all platforms increased by 156%. And there’s more: prominent industry brands have noticed our technology and content strategy support, and we just announced a new strategic partnership with group fitness leader Les Mills.

 These victories for Intelivideo point to one consistent truth: Through online platforms, fitness operators have the opportunity to bring the gym to the consumer. They can offer engaging, hyper-local digital experiences through the channel their customers prefer (on-demand, livestream, in person) and offer the type of training and classes they want.

The short of it is that businesses can remain competitive by providing more options and embracing digital experiences. The hybridization of services empowers fitness operators to harness the potential to grow their customer base exponentially – and grow their companies year after year. 

Trend or Staple?

The American College of Sports Medicine named online fitness the top trend for 2021. “Trend” is an understatement. Online experiences provide plenty of opportunity with existing customer segments, but they also open doors to other audiences. This potential isn’t going to fade away. It’s the present and the future. Just as the cyber world is vast and unending, so is the potential to use it to engage more people in new ways.

 Peloton understands this, and its sales have skyrocketed. So have memberships at fitness-focused platforms like Daily Burn. Now that consumers realize they can streamline their fitness regimens in ways that suit their lives, convenience & flexibility is here to stay.

Worthwhile Digital Experiences

Still, digital experiences aren’t guaranteed to be successful just by the fact that they exist. Online classes have to be engaging and unique. They have to foster a sense of hyper-local community, inclusion, and fellowship. And there has to be an element of interaction – a way for trainers to provide real-time feedback just as they would in person.

An evolved local fitness business pulls together both in-person and digital options, providing greater depth and breadth of choice. Hybridization enables fitness operators to deliver their content at any time – to engage with anyone who wants it, and to meet their members wherever they want to sweat.