Gym Quitters win - 22 Nov, 2010
• Gyms are offering up to 50 per cent discounts to those who have resigned their membership in order to entice them back while loyal gym members see price increases
• Average re-joining enticement is equivalent to £73 a year, says ConsumerIntelligence.com
Gyms are offering former customers who have resigned their membership reduced fees of up to 50 per cent off in order to entice them back, according to new findings from independent mystery shopping and market research firm, ConsumerIntelligence.com. The research will come as a nasty surprise to loyal gym members, 36 per cent of whom have seen their membership fees increase since they joined or last renewed their membership, compared with only eight per cent who have seen a decrease.
The findings show that around one in five (18%) of last year’s gym members has resigned their membership in the past 12 months, of which 29 per cent, around 2.3 million people, were offered a cheaper rate to stay or have since been courted to re-join the gym with a cheaper rate. The average reduction in rate they were offered was 16.5% per cent, equivalent to around £73 a year, and one in five gym leavers (19%) was offered a reduction of 30% or more to come back.
Around 47 per cent of adults are members of a gym in the UK, but over half (57%) of current gym members say they don’t intend to renew their membership when it expires. The main reasons for not renewing membership are to cut back on expenditure (32%) or because they haven’t used the facilities enough (32%). Some 6 per cent cite a lack of value for money as the main reason for their departure, and the same percentage leave to join another gym.
Ian Hughes, Managing Director of ConsumerIntelligence.com, commented: “It seems you need to quit to win in the gym. Many gyms offer fantastic facilities and service but this research shows that some members are getting a raw deal when the person on the treadmill next to them could be paying much less despite them having shown less loyalty.
“With around half of gym members saying they don’t intend to renew their membership after it expires, often due to financial pressures, gyms are going to have to be very careful to make sure they market to their existing customers as well as they do to new and former ones.”
The figures reveal that over half of men are members of a gym (51%), compared to around 43 per cent of women.
Ends
Notes to Editors
(1) Research from ConsumerIntelligence.com surveyed 1,992 UK adults between October 29th and November 5th 2010
(2) Average gym membership £442 a year sourced from BBC Radio 4, 17/3/2010 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours/items/03/2010_11_wed.shtml)
(3) ConsumerIntelligence.com is one of the UK’s leading market research and mystery shopper companies. We have been mystery shopping for nearly 10 years.
For further information, please contact:
Ian Hughes, Managing Director
Phone: 0117 317 8181
Email: pr@consumerintel.com
