Virtual Fitness Market: Soaring High with New Innovations and Business Strategies

Virtual fitness market is growing on popularity since the recent years. Fitness-conscious people worldwide are succumbing to online fitness programs as they are accommodative to the busy lifestyle of the urban population. However, after the coronavirus locked people’s lives indoors for a relatively long amount of time, the demand for virtual fitness programs witnessed a revolutionary boom. As per a report by Research Dive, the global virtual fitness market is expected to generate a revenue of $59,650.3 million by 2027.

Impact Analysis of Covid-19 on the Market

With the emergence of Covid-19 early in 2020, the nations had to go through strict regulations and heavy losses across industries. However, virtual fitness market has experienced a significantly higher turnout in revenue during the lockdown period.

Fitness startups Fittr, Fitternity, and HealthifyMe gained more customers during the time. The customers were seeking services related to health, mental wellbeing, corporate wellness programs, and many more. Mindbody, a leading software developer for gyms, spas and salons, has witnessed around 73% of rise in consumers who are using pre-recorded exercise videos, and fitness apps more than anything in the critical period of nationwide shutdown.

Many virtual fitness companies have taken initiative to help the people in crisis by providing necessary services which resulted in high-level of customer reach. In September 2020, for example, Fitbit, the U.S. based consumer electronics and fitness company, announced that they will offer a free trial of ‘Fitbit Premium’-its new home workout service-with an aim of helping people sleep-well, exercise, and stay healthy during the pandemic.

Recent Developments and Trends

According to a recent report by Research Dive, the leading players of the global virtual fitness market include Fitbit, Inc., ClassPass Inc., FitnessOnDemand, Peloton, Wellbeats, Inc., Zwift Inc, REH-FIT, Les Mills International Ltd., Sworkit, and Navigate Wellbeing Solutions.

These industry players are utilizing a lot of efforts on the research and development of smart and unique strategies to sustain the growth of the market. These strategies include product launches, mergers and acquisitions, collaborations, partnerships, and refurbishing of existing technology.

Some of the recent developments of the market are as follows:

• In January 2021, Google completed its $2.1 billion acquisition of Fitbit, as stated by a latest report. As per the news, after Google made a series of commitments about its planned process of Fitbit and usage of the health data it collects, the EU had approved the deal. However, Google got approval after agreeing to certain conditions, which includes that it won’t be able to use the consumer’s data from Fitbit in the European Economic Area (EEA) for ad targeting.
• As per a latest report, in March 2020, FitnessOnDemand has introduced its new product FLEX, which is designed as a new turnkey solution for clubs. The product has been designed to it easy for any club operator and offer their members custom fitness content without integrating into the current club systems or installing any new hardware.
• In September, 2020 Peloton announced its launch of the Peloton Bike+ and the innovative Peloton Tread. This product is considered to be an add-on to its portfolio of attached, immersive fitness products and great user experiences. As per the report, the Bike+ has become available for purchase in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Germany from September 9, 2020.  This latest arrival of Peloton product suite include two Bike models and two Tread models which offers the users new ways to syndicate cardio and strength training, adding more reasonable entry points to experience Peloton.
• In August 2020, ClassPass partnered with Fyt, one of the largest personal training services, in order to emphasize on live streamed virtual personal training sessions, as per a recent report.

Conclusion

The virtual fitness programs are designed for busy individuals who barely have time to go for an offline workout in a gym or any other fitness centers. These programs offer flexibility of time or place, which impress individuals with tight work schedules. These benefits of virtual fitness programs will never cease to appeal to people, keeping the profit level of the market remarkably high.