Growth in the Gym, Health & Fitness Market continues to trend upwards. How far up? According to IBIS WORLD, there were 113,000 fitness businesses in the U.S. alone in 2022—up nearly 3% over the last five years—which generated $32 billion in revenue in 2022. This translates to many opportunities for future personal trainers and fitness studio owners. You may be wondering, what exactly is driving fitness industry growth?
The same data points to memberships, personal training services and retail sales as the biggest contributors to revenue. This primes gym owners, personal trainers and others on the Vagaro platform to take advantage of the continued growth of their industry with features that help you target those particular drivers. Below, we share more stats and discuss the keys to this growth, and which features Vagaro users have identified as the keys to their success.
3 Major Revenue Drivers in the Fitness Industry
1. Membership Fees: 68.1%
This should come as no surprise, but research suggests that recurring membership fees make up over 68% of revenue for fitness businesses.
The goal for these businesses (gyms, yoga studios, etc.) should always be to sell memberships, as recurring monthly revenue is the key to scaling and keeping your business recession-proof.
The pricing structure for single classes, packages and short-term memberships should be such that longer-term recurring memberships are presented as the better deal.
That said, a variety of membership types and billing periods (monthly, yearly, etc.) is necessary to accommodate a wide range of client interests and goals.
Adding multiple membership tiers (Bronze, Silver, Gold) provides clear-cut incentives for clients to upgrade, as do discounts, promotions and reward programs.
Vagaro users know all of this, which is why they identify their membership add-on as critical to their success. They are great at turning perpetual drop-ins into loyal members.
If you need help in that department, check out this list of actionable tips for increasing membership sales.
2. Personal Trainers: 12.1%
Personal trainers remain the gold standard of fitness and demand for their services continues to increase.
Personal trainers provide 1:1 or small group training and increasingly incorporate nutrition, recovery & wellness into their services. They have also successfully embraced technology to deliver live streamed workouts, on-demand content & customized digital workout plans.
Their continued growth does bring about some challenges, however. Independent personal trainers must keep track of their growing roster of clients. Gym owners, similarly, must keep track of the schedules of any personal trainers they employ.
Things happen. Schedules shift. Everyone needs a day off sometimes.
Personal trainers and their employers need a tool that simplifies client scheduling and accommodates sudden changes. It should, ideally, let them view all schedules between multiple locations at a glance.
Fitness businesses that use Vagaro have such a tool at their disposal. In fact, a 2023 survey indicated it is essential to their success (more on that below).
3. Food, Beverage & Merchandise: 8.1%
Retail sales shouldn’t be an afterthought for fitness professionals. The global fitness food & drink market was valued at nearly $80 billion1 in 2021. The sports apparel industry is expected to hit $108.7 billion2 in 2025. Take advantage of that.
Selling protein supplements, shakes and other consumables helps solidify you as the nutrition expert you are, and even helps to strengthen your community. Meanwhile, water bottles, shirts, sweat bands, shorts and other swag help position your business as a brand.
Additionally, selling these can complement membership, training & class sales. You can also make them the focal point of flash sales, which Vagaro users know as Daily Deals. Check out these tips for creating the perfect flash sale with Daily Deals.
Top Vagaro Features for Growth
Fitness businesses using Vagaro identified the following features and add-ons as most crucial to their growth. These features enable them to take full advantage of the revenue sources outlined above.
1. Vagaro Memberships
Vagaro’s memberships feature lets users create a range of membership types and automatically bill their customers weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly.
Utilizing the autopay setting keeps a steady flow of revenue coming in. Tack on the fact that memberships can be sold almost anywhere clients are (Vagaro Marketplace, your booking page, social channels, Yelp & elsewhere), and Vagaro users are able to sell memberships and earn money while they sleep.
In addition to attaching discounts, promos and reward points, memberships can also be shared with family & friends between customer accounts. Enticing, indeed.
2. Vagaro Calendar
Vagaro’s business calendar is the perfect scheduling assistant for personal trainers and those who manage them.
The calendar is accessible anywhere and can be updated wherever you are. You can view all class and appointment details, as well as the schedule of every trainer you employ with a single click.
Vagaro’s calendar also syncs with Apple, Google and Outlook calendars, creating further ease of use.
3. Credit Card Processing
Over 38% of Vagaro businesses identified credit card processing as their most important add-on. This isn’t surprising, given the important connection of credit card processing to what drives revenue in the fitness industry.
Generating recurring income through renewable memberships requires credit card processing. The same is true for selling packages or food, beverages & branded merchandise, for that matter. You need the ability to capture and store a client’s payment information and charge the card they have on file.
4. Online Shopping Cart
Nearly 28% of Vagaro fitness businesses cited the online store & shopping cart. The online shopping cart makes it possible for their customers to purchase memberships, packages, products, clothing and just about everything online, at any time. Combined with memberships & credit card processing, that makes for huge (financial) gains.
5. Forms
Client intake forms are incredibly important for gyms and personal trainers—especially 23.4% of them on the Vagaro platform. Forms help mitigate potential injury & liability, but also help you to understand the fitness levels, goals and limitations of clients.
These details are vital to delivering the kind of personalized experience that clients are looking for.
Vagaro’s Forms creator makes it incredibly easy to build, distribute and sign forms. They help save time, avoid risks and deliver the best possible service.
6. Text & Email Marketing
Over 10% of Vagaro users cited the text & email marketing tools as vital to their growth. And why wouldn’t they? It helps them market their services and stand out in a very saturated market to advertise deals and flash sales on merchandise, as well as membership specials or promos they’re running.
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The major contributors driving revenue growth in the lucrative fitness industry play right into the strengths of the Vagaro platform—and all those who use it.
Trainers and gym owners alike can generate recurring income through memberships and market their services. Credit card processing makes it possible to sell online and at any time of day. That equates to significant growth & efficiency, period.
If you’re a fitness professional who is ready to enjoy a big slice of this $32 billion industry, then dash, leap or lunge into your FREE 30-day Vagaro trial!
