In 2016, 57.3 million US people belonged to a health club – up from 55.3 million in 2015, and yielding a new penetration rate of 19.3 per cent, up from 18.8 per cent. In all, 44 per cent of members used their club at least 100 times during the year and 22.1 per cent belonged to more than one facility. All are record-breaking figures revealed by The 2017 IHRSA Health Club Consumer Report.
The new report acknowledges that challenges lie ahead, but these have more to do with intensified competition and determining how best to continue growing, than with a declining market or an absence of opportunities. The sector now involves more clubs, more countries, more members and more business models than ever, yet it is still expanding.
Two major research organisations – IBIS World, and Research and Markets – have both charted the rising curve, with the latter estimating that the global industry will enjoy a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.14 per cent between this year and 2022.
The trend is being driven not only by corporate ambitions and entrepreneurial aspirations, but also by shifting societal conditions that produce problematic physical and psychological effects. There are more people in general and there are more people who need the services of health clubs. And while the fitness-services market grows ever larger, the increase in the number of clubs and suppliers within the sector means that the slices of available ‘pie’ grow thinner.
Based on more than 24,000 interviews conducted in 2016 and early 2017, the 132-page 2017 IHRSA Health Club Consumer Report provides a wealth of detailed information on current market opportunities, US membership trends, member demographics and attendance patterns, membership fees, personal and small-group training users, and many other topics. For the first time, the report also contains a special section on core consumers.
“This year’s report is loaded with insights on how clubs can profit from current consumer tendencies and preferences,” says Jay Ablondi, IHRSA’s executive vice president of global products. Indeed, the intimate portrait it paints of the contemporary club consumer serves as a well-informed game plan for those contemplating and crafting the industry’s future.
