More than one in five US internet households belong to a health club or studio
Parks Associates’ consumer data reveals consumer spending on service subscriptions continues to increase across categories, including entertainment, food delivery, and fitness. Subscription Memberships & Bundling: Shopping, Video, Gaming, Mobile, an online study of 8,000 US internet households, finds more than one in five Americans belong to a health club or studio and they are spending more than $44 per month.
This Quantified Consumer study examines adoption of paid membership programs, spending on memberships, and interest in new bundled services. It also identifies perception of value and consumers’ willingness to move between internet and mobile service providers to access new bundled services. Currently, 89% of households have a streaming video service, and 32% subscribe to a streaming audio service. One in five internet households subscribe to a gaming service, while 16% have a gym membership.
“Traditional gym memberships are still growing, but the fitness sector has expanded to include more types of subscriptions,” said Mindi Sue Sternblitz-Rubenstein, VP, Marketing, Parks Associates. “Fitness subscriptions can provide a more holistic health picture, as they often track various wellness indicators and sync with wearables and other connected health devices (e.g., connected weight scales, glucometers). Of course, consumers must use these features to get the benefits.”
The study notes that while many services provide long-term savings, many benefits are unused. On average, only 62% of subscribers across categories — including fitness — say they use all the membership benefits offered, creating opportunity for better value.
Tech ecosystem players compete in similar subscription categories, but their service designs and deliverables are unique. Apple, Google, and Amazon aggregate and offer subscription services across entertainment and productivity benefits. This includes fitness benefits such as Apple Fitness, Fitbit Premium, One Medical, and RxPass. Apple and Google also allow consumers to have the same or more robust versions of their services separately.
“With the decline of pay TV, internet providers seek new ways of acquiring and retaining subscribers,” Sternblitz-Rubenstein said. “Out-of-the-box thinking on bundled offerings can help decrease churn and increase the lifetime value of the customer.”
To schedule an interview with an analyst or to request specific data, please contact Mindi Sue Sternblitz-Rubenstein at mindi.sue@parksassociates.com or 972-490-1113.
About Parks Associates
Parks Associates, a woman-founded and certified business, is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates provides business intelligence and research services through its proprietary methodologies developed over decades, including quarterly surveys of 10,000 internet households.
The company's expertise crosses many industries: home security and smart home, streaming video, broadband and pay-TV services, digital media and platforms, gaming, Wi-Fi and home networks, connected health, support, consumer electronics, home control systems, energy management, and tech solutions for the multi-dwelling (MDU), small-to-medium business (SMB), and commercial building markets.
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