newswire: 8/7/2020
- Even as gyms and other fitness studios reopen, many Americans are staying away. Between fear of the virus and the proliferation of other options like online classes, the way we exercise may be changing permanently. (Time)
- NH: As gym owners reopen their doors, their worst fears are coming true: People aren’t coming back. Recent polls show that Americans are in no hurry to return to fitness centers. Morning Consult tracks weekly comfort levels for different activities during the pandemic. On the week of July 13, only 20% of Americans felt comfortable going to the gym. One week later, that share dropped to 18%. A different poll from TD Ameritrade found that 59% of Americans don’t plan to renew their gym memberships even once the pandemic is over.
- One reason people aren’t going to the gym is that they fear getting sick. Sharing equipment and heavy breathing isn’t exactly conducive to social distancing. And while your image of a gym rat might be a young 20-year-old, the average age of a gym user is almost 40 years old. Before COVID, gyms were seeing substantial growth in older members. With older people being more at risk for Covid-19, this demographic will most likely stick with gym alternatives.
- During the lockdown, many gyms’ most dedicated customers have been outfitting their homes for workouts. Peloton, the at-home smart bike, reported a +94% subscriber increase YoY for its fiscal third quarter. That's a motivated choice since a Peloton bike costs over $2,000 even before the subscription fees start. For those with less cash to spare, views for YouTube channels focusing on at-home workouts have skyrocketed. Fitness Blender, a website dedicated to at-home workouts with over 6 million subscribers, saw its YouTube subscriptions double since the pandemic began. If people can meet their workout needs in the safety of their own home, evidence suggests they will choose to forego gyms as long as Covid-19 still lurks.
- So what could bring people back to the gym? Some people prefer group exercise and being pushed by others--though on-line groups via Peloton, NordicTrack, and MIRROR are making inroads here. Others may return who either don’t have room to store multiple exercise machines or don't have money to buy them. This is probably truer for younger people in apartments than for Boomers living in large homes with money to spare. I could imagine a future where gyms become extremely specialized, and patrons come to use only one or two (sterilized) machines.
