4sight: Week 2 22/10/20

New joiners turn to gym and swim

90% of new joiner visits include some type of fitness or swimming, with new data taken from people who opened new memberships after 25th July 2020.

Are people coming back?

Since the lockdown restrictions on leisure venues have been lifted, there has been a steady growth in memberships, as individuals return or join the facility. At the end of September 2020, the sector showed a joiner rate (joiners as a proportion of total memberships) of just over 6%, balanced against the loss of some members through cancellation.

New joiners are defined as anyone that has joined the facility since 25th July, that did not have a pre-existing membership. This includes members who cancelled during lockdown and subsequently re-joined.

Who are these new joiners?

The prominent age groups are within the 25-44 age range, with limited new joiners comparatively in the 65+ age groups.

What are the activities favoured by new joiners?

The greatest proportion of visits by new joiners are happening in the gym, with 48.8% of activity classed as fitness.

It is clear that while virtual classes and outdoor activities have met some of the latent demand for physical activity during and since lockdown, fitness and swimming are activities that have not been replaced.

For further information or to enquire about 4GLOBAL’s insight services, including COVID19 Business Recovery Modelling, please contact enquiries@4global.com.