NZ NEWS
News and views from the New Zealand fitness industry .
Positive consumer attitudes likely to drive growth in the exercise industry
As part of its leadership role , ExerciseNZ recently commissioned extensive consumer research into attitudes to structured physical activity , and specifically if individuals were likely to start , stop or change current exercise providers and , if so , why .
While the research has yet to be comprehensively analysed ( a full report will be made available in the coming weeks ), what is already very clear is that consumers ' desire to exercise is very strong . The data shows a greater than 7:1 ratio of people intending to start versus stop a membership in the next 12 months ( i . e . for every person that said they were going to cancel their membership , seven intended to start one ). This is extremely positive news for the exercise industry , and mirrors our research from 2018 , indicating that the Kiwi consumer ' s attitude to exercise remains positive .
One specific benefit of the last 12 months has been the message of ‘ get outside and move ’ during lockdowns , and this would appear to have translated into demand for our product . It ’ s still very early days , however , and we need to analyse the data more comprehensively to establish what trends we expect to see moving forward , and to figure out exactly what this might mean for our industry . We have also identified , from the research , that over 100,000 Kiwis intend to change their exercise provider in the next 12 months - well up on our 2018 findings - which would indicate the consumer is more willing to shop around in 2021 . We want to do a deep dive into the survey data to see if there are any common reasons cited for this . Finding such answers could help inform exercise providers about what they can do to keep existing members , as well as attract those who are considering a move .
We are also undertaking an industry survey of facilities in June , which will gather data on membership , revenue and services , as well as pay rates and staff numbers . This will help inform members about both what has changed in the last 12 months , and what new trends are emerging . Both the industry and consumer trends reports will be able to be used by ExerciseNZ members to inform their business decisions , and by ExerciseNZ itself in its government advocacy and media engagement .
Overall , the survey has lots of very positive findings for our industry and we look forward to releasing a comprehensive report shortly . The publication will feature not only analysis of the 2021 data , but also comparisons to our 2018 survey findings , in order to identify trends and significant changes .
Richard Beddie CEO , ExerciseNZ info @ exercisenz . org . nz
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