Hoping to capitalize on a renewed interest in communal experiences, fitness chains are reconfiguring their spaces, offering more room to exercise and better amenities.
As people return to in-person activities with the loosening of coronavirus pandemic restrictions and a fall in reported Covid cases from last year, they are making a beeline for the gym, eager to shed extra pounds they gained during lockdowns. And the $32 billion U.S. fitness industry is greeting them with some new tricks.
Monthly visits to gyms from March through August rose more than 18 percent from the same period in 2019, according to data from Placer.ai, which tracks retail foot traffic. New memberships also increased, with sales per square foot at gyms up 34 percent in August from a year earlier and almost on a par with 2019, said Mark Sigal, chief executive of Datex Property Solutions, a software company that tracks retail properties.
The enthusiasm reflects fatigue with solo workouts coupled with a quest for communal experiences, at a time when some at-home exercise equipment that became popular during lockdowns — like Peloton bikes — is falling out of favor.
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