Reading the Consumer’s Mind
Ryan McFadden, the manager of market research and consumer insights for Club One, Inc., the large San Francisco-based chain, finds the report incredibly helpful. “With a roller-coaster economy, the ques- tion becomes: How do you get smarter about your members and customize en masse, with respect to everything from marketing to programming to acquisitions?” he explains. “We’ve got robust data on our own membership, and the recommendations in the report offer real tips on how best to leverage it.”
The statistics, analysis, and suggestions contained in the report are based on participation trends identified during nearly 40,000 interviews conducted with U.S. club members and nonmembers in January 2011. Among the issues addressed: member demographics, atten- dance, equipment usage, activity participation rates, and consumer profiles. New to this year’s report is a review of three-year membership trends and new-member profiles. Among the figures and trends revealed in the report are the following:
Ryan McFadden
• The total number of U.S. health club consumers (including members and nonmembers), reached 58 million in 2010, up 10.4% from 52.6 million in 2009.
• Over half (57%) of all new members are females.
• The average age of club members is 39.5 years. • Consumers paid an average of $39.66 in monthly dues for their memberships.
• The three states with the highest consumer participation rates are, in declining order, Massachusetts, Colorado, and California.
One of the proposals emerging from the report—a strategy to engage new and long-term members more effectively—is to find ways to maximize club usage. “Core” members, those who attend their clubs
Excerpt from
The IHRSA Health Club Consumer Report
Health Club Membership Trends
or the first time in several years, the U.S. health club industry saw a significant increase in health club membership. From 2009 to 2010, the number of health club members in the U.S. increased by 10.8% from45.3 million to 50.2 million consumers. In addition, the total number of health club consumers, which consists of members and non-member users/ visitors, reached 58 million in 2010, up 10.4% from 52.6 million in 2009. With the economy slow to recover, consumers have shown that their health is an asset in which they are willing to invest despite limited or static discretionary income. Roughly one in five Americans (20.5%) ages six and over is a health club consumer. Nearly 18% (17.7%) of Americans are health club members. On average, members used their health club an average of 97.5 days in 2010, which is a slight decrease from an all-time high of 102 visits in 2009.
F Table 2: U.S. Three-Year Membership Trends
44 Club Business Internat ional
| DECEMBER 2011 |
ihrsa.org
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