Gym White Paper: Beyond The Treadmill

About this white paper
This white paper aims to help gyms deliver a better experience for their customers, increasing membership retention, and subsequently profits. It has been compiled using statistics generated by a market research agency. The gym statistics it contains are about perceptions of the gym-going experience. It was created by Saturn Visual Solutions, a digital signage consultancy that works with businesses in the leisure sector – including gyms– helping them to improve their customers’ experience and to be more profitable.

Download this free gym white paper

Key takeaways
In this white paper you will learn:

• More than a quarter of people in the UK consider gyms to be the most boring place to spend leisure time
• Younger people are less likely to think that gyms are boring
• Women are more likely to think gyms and health clubs are boring and avoid them

Beyond the treadmill – Overview

The UK’s gym industry is constantly changing. New fitness brand companies are constantly popping up and changing what is available, where, and at what price-point. What doesn’t seem to change is the large numbers of gym members that cancel their membership due to non-use or infrequent attendance.

New research commissioned by Saturn Visual Solutions, which is detailed within this white paper, has produced gym statistics that show that more than a quarter of people in the UK perceive gyms to be boring and avoid visiting them.

A survey was conducted by OnePoll of 2000 adults who live in the UK and are in full or part-time work.

They were asked what types of leisure/hospitality venues they would consider to be the most boring and would avoid spending time in.

• More than a quarter (28%) of the people involved in the research said ‘gyms/health clubs/leisure centres’ were the most boring. This was the most popular answer by a large margin (7%).
• The responses were similar when split out by gender, with 29% of women voting gyms as being the most boring way to pass leisure time, and 27% of men saying the same.
• Young people were less likely to think of them as boring places with 21 per cent of 18-44 year olds, compared with 37 per cent of survey respondents over 45 years of age.

Fitness centres that fail to deliver obvious value for money and improve members’ mental health as well as their physical health, could struggle to compete against other gyms that offer more facilities and classes for less.

The new gym statistics indicate that there is a clear financial benefit to create stimulating environments in gyms, so that members engage more and return often.

Key principles highlighted for improving gym spaces are:
• They should be visually interesting.
• They should stimulate users, making them laugh/smile, feel excited, and/or anticipate a positive experience.
• They should feel lively.
• They should foster a shared, positive experience, helping to create a sense of community and tackle ‘gymtimidation’
• They should be unpredictable.

Solutions

Digital signage displays are dynamic and create a vast amount of ‘airtime’ which can be used in a variety of ways that can be used to make gyms feel more interesting and fun.

They can be used to highlight the benefits of different classes and show class previews, enticing members to try something new. This can be in the form of class countdown timers, encouraging gym goers to consider new classes on top of their standard workout.

Interactive displays are being employed by some gyms, which  give members a chance to take part in interactive challenges or access on-demand virtual trainers.

Nurturing a welcoming, friendly environment is vital for gyms that want to encourage return visits and positive word of mouth. Digital signage can be used to boost the promotion of social events, such as group runs, charity fitness challenges and mixers – building a sense of community and helping members develop their fitness club friendship circles.

Far more engaging than static advertising, digital signage can be used to promote merchandise to gym-goers.

The PDF of of our gym white paper gives a snapshot of just some of the ways digital signage technology can be used to improve member experience, and is free to download now.

If you have a project you want to discuss or you want to learn more about using digital signage to enhance your gym or fitness club experience, call our team now on 0161 222 0706 or email us at info@saturnvisual.com.