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You certainly won’t see anyone working out like this in the gym: the young man is wearing sunglasses and a swimsuit, an open shirt reveals his chest and stomach, his feet are resting on a colorful bath blanket, and he’s turquoise. flops. He shoulders a barbell and squats deeply for squats. “Are you fit for summer?” on the advertising poster of Switzerland’s largest fitness chain. The slogan is calling you.
There’s always some slack in fitness rooms in the summer. When the weather warms up, many people choose to exercise, cycle, swim or run outside. That’s why so many providers rely on summer sales. But the snapshot belies the current mood among fitness center operators: It’s almost entirely positive, as a recent study on the Swiss fitness market commissioned by the Swiss Active interest group shows. But the industry has gone through major changes.
Optimism is back
514 health and fitness centers participated in the research. 73 percent rate their economic situation in 2022 as “pretty good” or “good”. Almost a quarter said it was “satisfactory” and only 2.1 percent rated the situation as “fairly bad” or “poor”. A year ago, 30 percent of companies rated their business situation as “pretty bad.” Access restrictions and closures experienced during the pandemic years affected the centers very much. From December 2019 to the end of 2022, the number of studios decreased by almost 100 to 1283. But now customers are coming back. Last year, the increase was 11.7 percent. The pre-corona level in 2019 has not yet been reached. However, 99 percent of operators assume that business numbers will continue to improve over the next twelve months.
Young people are conquering the studios
Half of the clients in the studios are women. And 64 percent will be under 40 by 2022. As a result, the number of young customers has increased significantly. A year ago, they made up 54.6 percent of customers. The 20-30 age group, which currently makes up 28 percent of the customers, was the group that grew the most with 4.7 points. The average age is 39.7. It is also evident that customers are going to the gym more often.
Great potential among the elderly
The study’s authors see the greatest potential in the older target group. Because: In 2022, those over 40 will make up only 37 percent of customers. Thus, their shares decreased by 8.4 points compared to the previous year. Older customers, in particular, were afraid to renew their subscriptions during the pandemic. The aim should be to “carry” this target group more and more and thus establish itself even more strongly as a healthcare provider in the future.
Personal trainer on the rise
The centers have adapted their scope and orientation to new customer needs: the health aspect as well as performance improvement is becoming more and more important to customers. Fitness as a lifestyle product is losing its importance. In particular, the demand for personal training has increased. Almost half of the studios now offer this service. 14.3 points increase. Nutrition advice offerings have skyrocketed, with a 21 percent increase — meanwhile, 37.4 percent of studios trust it.
Up to 1790 francs per year
The number of micro (-4.4%) and individual centers (-3.9%) continued to decline. The number of studios in fitness chains increased by 4.2 percent. Chains are especially popular among men.
57.6 percent of fitness centers have increased their prices – almost 40 percent think they will continue to increase prices this year. The annual subscription fee to a microcenter is 1,263 francs on average. You have to spend 954 francs on a single studio. Chains are the cheapest at 858 francs per year. Average prices increased by 61 francs in one year.
Annual subscription fees vary greatly depending on the provider. Comparison service Comparis examined the prices of fitness chains in the country in June. Providers with at least five studios are considered a chain. It turned out that the cheapest annual subscriptions started at 498 francs and went up to 1790 francs. Depending on the price category, customers benefit from many different services. Group courses, childcare, sauna or refreshments are included in the offer at some of the more expensive studios.
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
