RESEARCH ROUND-UP
Market dynamics
What opportunities must operators latch onto to grow their business in 2013?
JAMES McCOY, RESEARCH DIRECTOR, YOUGOV SIXTHSENSE P
re-recession, the UK market for gyms and health clubs expanded, but in recent years, growth in expenditure
has slowed markedly. Much of the recent drop in annual growth can be attributed to a struggling economy: consumer expenditure on leisure and recreational activities has been one of the casualties of the recession. According to findings from YouGov’s
Household Economic Activity Tracker (HEAT) – which presents monthly indicators of consumer confidence and the ability of consumers to spend – consumers expect to spend slightly less on gym memberships over the next 12 months when compared to the previous 12 months. To overcome this, the industry needs
to understand what influences people to exercise, what specific health goals people hope to achieve, and then convince consumers that membership of gyms and health clubs are not only affordable, but something they can’t do without.
Age differences Current government guidelines recommend that the average healthy person should do 30 minutes of moderate cardiovascular exercise three to five times a week. But when it comes to healthy lifestyles, different age groups face different challenges. Our recent report on sports supplements
examined the type of exercise undertaken by adults in the UK. In total, 14 per cent of UK adults visit a gym regularly, 14 per cent visit rarely, but the vast majority – 73 per cent – never visit a gym at all. Overall, the most popular regular exercise activities are the more gentle pursuits such as walking and gardening, with 46 per cent and 36 per cent of UK adults, respectively, regularly undertaking these. These entail little or no cost and do not require any special equipment. They are easily accessible and do not need any organisation or a particularly high level of fitness.
Finding the time to exercise is hardest for
those aged between 25 and 44. This will be partly due to work and family commitments, but for younger respondents, exercise will be competing with social activities. Gyms and health clubs need to find ways to promote the benefits of a regular and sustained commitment to exercising, while at the same time demonstrating that it is possible to fit this in with the day-to-day commitments of modern life. Meanwhile, stress levels are highest
among 35- to 54-year-olds; juggling the responsibilities of family and work clearly takes its toll on these groups. Some work could be done to better promote the stress-relieving effects of exercise, in particular regular exercise. This could be done through promoting the health benefits of shorter exercise classes tailored for specific demographics and social groups. Age is a key determining factor when it comes to specific fitness goals, and gyms
“CONSUMERS ARE LOOKING TO MAKE SMALL SAVINGS ACROSS A RANGE OF REGULAR PAYMENTS, AS OPPOSED TO LARGE-SCALE SAVINGS”
32 Health Club Handbook 2013
www.healthclubhandbook.com
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