健身方式已經發生劇變,健身房會消失嗎?
全美壺鈴的短缺以及社交媒體對壓平疫情曲線的呼吁,可能凸顯了新冠疫情社交隔離期間居家健身的重要性。然而,隨著健身房的重新開業,人們依然蜂擁而至,與同伴們一道揮汗如雨。
隨著居家隔離令開始解除,全美超過半數州的健身房都已經重新開業,其中大多數健身房都在一定程度上減少了接待人數或其他社交隔離限制。作為第一階段的一部分,特朗普總統聯邦重啟計劃允許健身房重新開業。公共衛生專家稱,回歸健身房為時尚早,但很多美國人都迫不及待地去健身房練上幾個回合,即便健身房的面目因為實施社交隔離而發生了改變。
國際健康、球類和體育俱樂部協會(IHRSA)稱,健身是一個價值340億美元的行業,約20%的美國人都是某家健身俱樂部的會員。當其健身場所停業之后,很多人都轉向了手機或筆記本。獨角獸公司Classpass的首席商務官扎克?阿普特說,疫情提升了虛擬健身產品的可訪問市場規模,并迫使傳統健身房提供更多的居家健身虛擬產品。Classpass于今年1月宣布其估值達到了10億美元。疫情還提升了人們對健身益處的認識:心血管健康問題是導致新冠肺炎重癥或死亡的重要風險因素之一。
阿普特說:“我們經歷了在線或虛擬健身需求的暴漲,要不是新冠疫情,這一現象可能不會發生。”國際健康、球類和體育俱樂部協會已經在其2019年報告中將虛擬健身這類技術加強型產品列為一種重要的行業趨勢,而且很多健身房,尤其是大型連鎖店,正在通過各種途徑進一步搶占虛擬市場。然而,要不是新冠疫情爆發,線上業務可能永遠也無法成為如此重要的關注點。
健身行業早在這一切發生之前便已進入了轉變期。Piper Sandler的分析師皮特?凱斯說:“健身行業在過去幾年發生了很大的變化?!笔袌鲆幠W畲蟮哪^于高端精品健身工作室,它們提供的是某一種服務,例如普拉提或芭蕾,還有像Planet Fitness這類走量的高性價比健身房。中端市場則是像Gold Gym這類品牌的天下,但這類品牌在疫情爆發后難以維持其競爭力,因此在頂端和低端市場健身產品的夾擊下逐漸失去了其傳統客戶群。
Planet Fitness是該領域少數上市公司之一。凱斯稱,該公司目前的狀況便是疫情對健身行業估值影響的縮影。他說:“我們看到,公司的股價從約70美元下跌至最低點的約30美元?!?
但公司的股票在6月初出現了反彈,當時公司向美國證券交易委員會(SEC)報備的文件稱,得益于新入會人數的增加抵消了客戶的流失,這家有著800處店面的公司的會員數量依然十分穩定。凱斯稱,這一點與其公司在4月和5月開展的兩項調查一致,該調查顯示,約80%的受調對象有可能保留其健身房會員。
為了打消信心不足會員的顧慮并確保其繼續保留會員,市場中的各大健身俱樂部都需要拿出強有力的方案,展示重新開業后的健身房會在社交隔離以及繼續鞏固這些措施方面都做了哪些工作,這意味著它們將會降低會員接待數量和加強消毒舉措等。
阿巴拉契亞州立大學研究健身動機的運動科學教授本杰明?斯布里稱,很多美國人都有可能返回健身房。他說:“健身房依然能夠提供很多人們在家中無法實現的健身項目。”
健身房頗具吸引力一點在于,除了能夠便捷地使用設備和健身空間外,有兩件價格不菲的事物可能在家中無法實現。一是健身教練和課程導師的專業知識,以及健身圈文化和其他健身人士的支持。斯布里說:“人們去健身房的部分原因在于與其他人一道健身,并分擔健身的苦楚。我覺得很多人對此非??释??!?
那些成功完成轉型、在家健身的人士也有可能繼續在家健身,至少會持續一段時間。第一,家里很方便;第二,他們如今也購買了健身設備。家用健身器材的購買在過去一個季度出現了上漲,從昂貴的跑步機到啞鈴這類更加基礎的設施均是如此。為了確保跟上健身計劃,人們的購買熱情還讓這些設備出現了短缺狀況。斯布里說,認真的周末健身達人可能已經解決了在家健身的問題。
即便那些有能力自己制定訓練計劃的人士也都依賴于多種多樣的在線課程。擁有很多群體健身課程的健身房,例如CrossFit健身房和瑜伽工作室,已經在嘗試讓其客戶通過健身直播這種方式,在家接觸一部分專業知識和健身群體,發布付費點播視頻,提供激勵型在線輔導,甚至在某些情況下出租設備。
麥克馬斯特大學研究鍛煉和大腦的人體運動學家詹妮弗?海茨稱,運動如今比以往任何時候都更重要。她表示,對于那些定期鍛煉的人來說,即便是停止運動兩周,“也足以造成情緒的不佳?!卞憻捠菧p壓的一個重要方式,對于受疫情影響的數千萬人來說至關重要。她說,最后,鍛煉還有助于人們保持清醒和專注度,這樣,長時間的Zoom電話會議也可能不再那么難熬。
事情無法在短時間內回歸正常。斯布里說,哪怕顧客在數個月或一年之內都不會回歸健身房,虛擬服務也能夠幫助健身房留住顧客,并與其保持互動。這些服務通常比健身房會費便宜,而且采用點播形式。
當健身房因為疫情而閉店時,Gold’s Gym便已經推出了一個應用程序。Gold’s Gym的總裁兼首席執行官亞當?澤茨夫說,我們免費提供應用程序的下載和使用,而且該應用程序自1月以來的下載量已經達到了數十萬次。公司加速了對應用程序中已有內容的改善工作,并添加了新功能。公司的澤茨夫還表示,“公司今后將在這一領域投入重金。”
與虛擬健身公司打交道的客戶在最近幾個月中也出現了增長。例如,Peloton的獨立數字會員月費為12.99美元,使用健身車或跑步機的月注冊費用為39美元,這兩款設備的一次性投入成本均達到了上千美元。公司的注冊人數自疫情開始之后出現了大幅增加,也讓公司的會員數突破了100萬大關。
JMP Securities的Peloton分析師隆?喬西稱,實現這個數字是一場“艱苦卓絕的斗爭”,而且會對市場滲透帶來長期的影響。到目前為止,很多新注冊用戶依然在處于這個獨立應用程序的免費試用期,公司在疫情開始時便將試用期從1個月延至3個月。他說,所有這些額外注冊用戶受到的短期財務沖擊不一定會對本季度的營收造成影響,但下個季度我們就會看到,到底有多少人轉化為付費用戶。
彭博行業研究(Bloomberg Intelligence)的數據認為,從歷史上來看,約10%的Peloton的獨立應用程序用戶會轉化為健身車或跑步機的完整權限會員。最近的經濟下滑可能會改變這個轉化率,因為很多人的可支配收入有所下降。然而從某種意義上來說,這種精品健身服務也可以成為一種經濟實惠的選擇:Macquarie公司的分析師保羅?戈爾丁表示,Peloton最大的銷售收入來自于收入低于7.5萬美元的家庭。
此前,健身車令人望而卻步的價簽及其昂貴的月租費曾經讓消費者失去了興趣,但Peloton的理念在于,對于有兩個用戶的家庭來說,注冊和設備租賃的月費如果分期付的話為97美元,遠低于兩人的精品健身房會費。戈爾丁說:“它還說明了一個事實,無論設備看起來有多貴,健身行業都已經找到了合適的方式來傳遞價值及其具有的靈活性?!?
喬西說:“這些趨勢有可能會繼續延續下去,家用設備、居家鍛煉只是其中的一種?!彼A計這一領域將會進一步多元化,但Peloton有明顯的優勢,而且走在了其專業虛擬健身競爭對手的前面,例如Echelon、Myx Fitness和Mirror。
總之,像其他事物一樣,健身行業因為疫情而發生了改變。但這并不意味著人們就會放棄集體健身的方式。肯尼索州立大學的體育管理教授那拉尼?巴特勒稱:“我覺得人們并不愿意一直待在家中。如今,所有人都在渴望得到社群感,而且體育的確能夠滿足這一需求?!?
巴特勒稱,隨著迪士尼游樂設施的重新開業,健身與體育場所正在密切關注接下來可能會發生的事情。她說:“在我看來,迪士尼確實正在塑造我們今后開展體育賽事的標準做法,從口罩到無現金支付,再到進園時的體溫測量?!?
市場各個層面重新開啟的健身中心已經實施了其中的某些舉措。然而大多數業內人士預計,行業的穩定可能還需要數月乃至數年的時間,因為針對新冠病毒的疫苗至少還需要一年的時間才能上市。但疫情引發的快速變化向我們展現了兩件重要的事情:虛擬健身產品復制健身社群影響的相似度越高,這類產品的成功性也就越大;而且如果條件允許,很多人都渴望再次與其朋友一道揮汗如雨。(財富中文網)
譯者:Feb
全美壺鈴的短缺以及社交媒體對壓平疫情曲線的呼吁,可能凸顯了新冠疫情社交隔離期間居家健身的重要性。然而,隨著健身房的重新開業,人們依然蜂擁而至,與同伴們一道揮汗如雨。
隨著居家隔離令開始解除,全美超過半數州的健身房都已經重新開業,其中大多數健身房都在一定程度上減少了接待人數或其他社交隔離限制。作為第一階段的一部分,特朗普總統聯邦重啟計劃允許健身房重新開業。公共衛生專家稱,回歸健身房為時尚早,但很多美國人都迫不及待地去健身房練上幾個回合,即便健身房的面目因為實施社交隔離而發生了改變。
國際健康、球類和體育俱樂部協會(IHRSA)稱,健身是一個價值340億美元的行業,約20%的美國人都是某家健身俱樂部的會員。當其健身場所停業之后,很多人都轉向了手機或筆記本。獨角獸公司Classpass的首席商務官扎克?阿普特說,疫情提升了虛擬健身產品的可訪問市場規模,并迫使傳統健身房提供更多的居家健身虛擬產品。Classpass于今年1月宣布其估值達到了10億美元。疫情還提升了人們對健身益處的認識:心血管健康問題是導致新冠肺炎重癥或死亡的重要風險因素之一。
阿普特說:“我們經歷了在線或虛擬健身需求的暴漲,要不是新冠疫情,這一現象可能不會發生?!眹H健康、球類和體育俱樂部協會已經在其2019年報告中將虛擬健身這類技術加強型產品列為一種重要的行業趨勢,而且很多健身房,尤其是大型連鎖店,正在通過各種途徑進一步搶占虛擬市場。然而,要不是新冠疫情爆發,線上業務可能永遠也無法成為如此重要的關注點。
健身行業早在這一切發生之前便已進入了轉變期。Piper Sandler的分析師皮特?凱斯說:“健身行業在過去幾年發生了很大的變化?!笔袌鲆幠W畲蟮哪^于高端精品健身工作室,它們提供的是某一種服務,例如普拉提或芭蕾,還有像Planet Fitness這類走量的高性價比健身房。中端市場則是像Gold Gym這類品牌的天下,但這類品牌在疫情爆發后難以維持其競爭力,因此在頂端和低端市場健身產品的夾擊下逐漸失去了其傳統客戶群。
Planet Fitness是該領域少數上市公司之一。凱斯稱,該公司目前的狀況便是疫情對健身行業估值影響的縮影。他說:“我們看到,公司的股價從約70美元下跌至最低點的約30美元?!?
但公司的股票在6月初出現了反彈,當時公司向美國證券交易委員會(SEC)報備的文件稱,得益于新入會人數的增加抵消了客戶的流失,這家有著800處店面的公司的會員數量依然十分穩定。凱斯稱,這一點與其公司在4月和5月開展的兩項調查一致,該調查顯示,約80%的受調對象有可能保留其健身房會員。
為了打消信心不足會員的顧慮并確保其繼續保留會員,市場中的各大健身俱樂部都需要拿出強有力的方案,展示重新開業后的健身房會在社交隔離以及繼續鞏固這些措施方面都做了哪些工作,這意味著它們將會降低會員接待數量和加強消毒舉措等。
阿巴拉契亞州立大學研究健身動機的運動科學教授本杰明?斯布里稱,很多美國人都有可能返回健身房。他說:“健身房依然能夠提供很多人們在家中無法實現的健身項目?!?
健身房頗具吸引力一點在于,除了能夠便捷地使用設備和健身空間外,有兩件價格不菲的事物可能在家中無法實現。一是健身教練和課程導師的專業知識,以及健身圈文化和其他健身人士的支持。斯布里說:“人們去健身房的部分原因在于與其他人一道健身,并分擔健身的苦楚。我覺得很多人對此非常渴望?!?
那些成功完成轉型、在家健身的人士也有可能繼續在家健身,至少會持續一段時間。第一,家里很方便;第二,他們如今也購買了健身設備。家用健身器材的購買在過去一個季度出現了上漲,從昂貴的跑步機到啞鈴這類更加基礎的設施均是如此。為了確保跟上健身計劃,人們的購買熱情還讓這些設備出現了短缺狀況。斯布里說,認真的周末健身達人可能已經解決了在家健身的問題。
即便那些有能力自己制定訓練計劃的人士也都依賴于多種多樣的在線課程。擁有很多群體健身課程的健身房,例如CrossFit健身房和瑜伽工作室,已經在嘗試讓其客戶通過健身直播這種方式,在家接觸一部分專業知識和健身群體,發布付費點播視頻,提供激勵型在線輔導,甚至在某些情況下出租設備。
麥克馬斯特大學研究鍛煉和大腦的人體運動學家詹妮弗?海茨稱,運動如今比以往任何時候都更重要。她表示,對于那些定期鍛煉的人來說,即便是停止運動兩周,“也足以造成情緒的不佳?!卞憻捠菧p壓的一個重要方式,對于受疫情影響的數千萬人來說至關重要。她說,最后,鍛煉還有助于人們保持清醒和專注度,這樣,長時間的Zoom電話會議也可能不再那么難熬。
事情無法在短時間內回歸正常。斯布里說,哪怕顧客在數個月或一年之內都不會回歸健身房,虛擬服務也能夠幫助健身房留住顧客,并與其保持互動。這些服務通常比健身房會費便宜,而且采用點播形式。
當健身房因為疫情而閉店時,Gold’s Gym便已經推出了一個應用程序。Gold’s Gym的總裁兼首席執行官亞當?澤茨夫說,我們免費提供應用程序的下載和使用,而且該應用程序自1月以來的下載量已經達到了數十萬次。公司加速了對應用程序中已有內容的改善工作,并添加了新功能。公司的澤茨夫還表示,“公司今后將在這一領域投入重金?!?
與虛擬健身公司打交道的客戶在最近幾個月中也出現了增長。例如,Peloton的獨立數字會員月費為12.99美元,使用健身車或跑步機的月注冊費用為39美元,這兩款設備的一次性投入成本均達到了上千美元。公司的注冊人數自疫情開始之后出現了大幅增加,也讓公司的會員數突破了100萬大關。
JMP Securities的Peloton分析師隆?喬西稱,實現這個數字是一場“艱苦卓絕的斗爭”,而且會對市場滲透帶來長期的影響。到目前為止,很多新注冊用戶依然在處于這個獨立應用程序的免費試用期,公司在疫情開始時便將試用期從1個月延至3個月。他說,所有這些額外注冊用戶受到的短期財務沖擊不一定會對本季度的營收造成影響,但下個季度我們就會看到,到底有多少人轉化為付費用戶。
彭博行業研究(Bloomberg Intelligence)的數據認為,從歷史上來看,約10%的Peloton的獨立應用程序用戶會轉化為健身車或跑步機的完整權限會員。最近的經濟下滑可能會改變這個轉化率,因為很多人的可支配收入有所下降。然而從某種意義上來說,這種精品健身服務也可以成為一種經濟實惠的選擇:Macquarie公司的分析師保羅?戈爾丁表示,Peloton最大的銷售收入來自于收入低于7.5萬美元的家庭。
此前,健身車令人望而卻步的價簽及其昂貴的月租費曾經讓消費者失去了興趣,但Peloton的理念在于,對于有兩個用戶的家庭來說,注冊和設備租賃的月費如果分期付的話為97美元,遠低于兩人的精品健身房會費。戈爾丁說:“它還說明了一個事實,無論設備看起來有多貴,健身行業都已經找到了合適的方式來傳遞價值及其具有的靈活性?!?
喬西說:“這些趨勢有可能會繼續延續下去,家用設備、居家鍛煉只是其中的一種?!彼A計這一領域將會進一步多元化,但Peloton有明顯的優勢,而且走在了其專業虛擬健身競爭對手的前面,例如Echelon、Myx Fitness和Mirror。
總之,像其他事物一樣,健身行業因為疫情而發生了改變。但這并不意味著人們就會放棄集體健身的方式??夏崴髦萘⒋髮W的體育管理教授那拉尼?巴特勒稱:“我覺得人們并不愿意一直待在家中。如今,所有人都在渴望得到社群感,而且體育的確能夠滿足這一需求?!?
巴特勒稱,隨著迪士尼游樂設施的重新開業,健身與體育場所正在密切關注接下來可能會發生的事情。她說:“在我看來,迪士尼確實正在塑造我們今后開展體育賽事的標準做法,從口罩到無現金支付,再到進園時的體溫測量?!?
市場各個層面重新開啟的健身中心已經實施了其中的某些舉措。然而大多數業內人士預計,行業的穩定可能還需要數月乃至數年的時間,因為針對新冠病毒的疫苗至少還需要一年的時間才能上市。但疫情引發的快速變化向我們展現了兩件重要的事情:虛擬健身產品復制健身社群影響的相似度越高,這類產品的成功性也就越大;而且如果條件允許,很多人都渴望再次與其朋友一道揮汗如雨。(財富中文網)
譯者:Feb
A national kettlebell shortage and social media calls to #plankthecurve may have highlighted the importance of at-home fitness during COVID-19 social distancing, but as gyms open up, people are returning in droves to sweat with their peers.
Gyms have reopened in more than half of states across the country as stay-at-home orders begin to lift, most under some form of reduced occupancy or other social distancing restrictions. President Trump’s federal reopening plan allows gyms to reopen as part of phase 1. Public health experts say it’s too soon for a return to the weightlifting bench, but many Americans can’t wait to get back to working out—even if the gym has been modified to allow for social distancing.
Fitness is a $34 billion industry, and an estimated 20% of Americans have a membership to some kind of fitness club, according to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA). When their workout spaces shut their doors, a number of them turned to their phones or laptops. The pandemic has increased the addressable market for virtual fitness offerings and also forced traditional gyms to move into offering more virtual products for at-home workouts, says Zach Apter, chief commercial officer of Classpass, which announced a $1 billion unicorn valuation in January. The pandemic has also raised awareness of the health benefits of working out: Poor cardiovascular health is one of the major risk factors for severe illness or death as a result of COVID-19.
“We have experienced a demand shock for online or virtual fitness that might not have happened in a non-COVID world,” Apter says. The IHRSA had already identified technology-enhanced offerings like virtual fitness as an important industry trend in its 2019 report, and many gyms, especially large chains, were looking at moving further into the virtual space. But it might never have become such a priority without COVID-19.
All this unfolded in an industry that was already in a state of change. “The fitness industry has evolved a lot in the last couple of years,” says analyst Peter Keith of Piper Sandler. The largest market segments are at the high-end boutique fitness studios, which tend to cater to one specific kind of exercise like Pilates or barre, and high-value, low-price (HVLP) gyms like Planet Fitness that rely on volume. In the middle market are properties like Gold’s Gym, which were already struggling to maintain relevance when the pandemic began, their traditional customer base hollowed out by offerings at the top and bottom of the market, Keith says.
Planet Fitness is one of the few publicly traded stocks in this space, and Keith says that what happened there is a good example of how the pandemic impacted valuation in the fitness space. “You’re looking at a stock that went from about $70 to kind of bottoming out around $30,” he says.
But the stock saw a jump at the beginning of June, when an SEC filing stated that membership numbers at the 800 company-owned locations were remaining steady, thanks to a spike in new sign-ups offset by churn. Keith says that’s consistent with the results of two surveys his firm conducted in April and May that showed about 80% of respondents are likely to retain their gym membership.
To reassure uncertain people and ensure continued membership, fitness clubs at all points in the market need to have firm plans for what a reopened gym will look like in terms of social distancing and continue to reinforce those measures as they reopen, which will mean decreased capacity and increased sanitation measures, among other things.
Benjamin Sibley, an Appalachian State University professor of exercise science who studies workout motivation, says many Americans are likely to return to their gym. “Gyms still offer a lot of things that people are struggling to achieve at home,” says Sibley.
One of the gym’s big appeals—besides easy access to equipment and workout space, two things that are expensive and may not be available at home—is access to both the expert knowledge of trainers and class instructors and the community knowledge and support of other people working out. “Part of it is actively working out with other people at the same time and that shared suffering. I think a lot of people are going to be hungry for that,” says Sibley.
Those who managed to make the transition to at-home workouts successfully are likely to continue working out at home, at least some of the time. For one thing, it’s convenient. For another, they have the equipment now. Purchases of home fitness equipment from big-ticket items like treadmills to more basic equipment like dumbbells spiked in the last quarter, causing supply shortages as people tried to ensure they can keep up with their fitness routines. Serious weekend warriors have likely figured it out, says Sibley.
Even many who don’t have the knowledge to design a routine themselves have relied on a wide selection of online classes. Gyms that have a lot of group fitness offerings, like CrossFit gyms and yoga studios, have tried to give their clients access to some of that knowledge and community at home by doing things like live-streaming workouts, posting videos for on-demand consumption, providing motivational coaching online, and even in some cases renting out equipment.
Exercise is more important now than ever, says Jennifer Heisz, a McMaster University kinesiologist who studies exercise and the brain. For people who regularly exercise, even two weeks of sedentary time “is enough to cause a dip in mood,” she says. And exercise is a key component of stress relief, crucial to the millions of people who had their lives upended by the pandemic. Finally, she says, exercise helps people stay alert and focused, which might make those long Zoom meetings a little easier to handle.
Things won’t go back to normal anytime soon. Virtual offerings help gyms hold on to clients and keep them engaged, even if they won’t be returning to the gym for months or a year, Sibley says. These offerings are often less expensive than gym memberships or offered on an à la carte basis.
When its gyms shut their doors because of the pandemic, Gold’s Gym already had an app. The company made that app free to download and use and saw hundreds of thousands of downloads since January, says Gold’s Gym president and CEO Adam Zeitsiff. The company accelerated improvements that had already been in the works and added new features. In the future, “we’re going to be investing heavily,” Zeitsiff adds.
Consumer engagement with virtual fitness companies has also grown in recent months. For example, Peloton—which sells both a $12.99 per month independent digital membership and a $39 per month subscription for use with its stationary bike or treadmill, which both have one-time costs of thousands of dollars for the equipment—has seen a significant bump since the pandemic began, pushing the company over the 1 million subscriber mark.
Hitting that mark is an “uphill battle,” says Peloton analyst Ron Josey of JMP Securities, and may have longer-term effects on market penetration. For now, many of those new subscribers are still on free trial of the stand-alone app, which the company extended from one to three months at the start of the pandemic. The short-term financial impact of all those extra subscribers won’t necessarily show up in this quarter’s earnings, he says—but the next quarter will show how many were converted to paying subscribers.
Bloomberg Intelligence data suggests that, historically, about 10% of Peloton’s stand-alone app users are converted to an All-Access membership with a bike or treadmill. It’s possible that the recent economic downturn could change that conversion figure since many may have less disposable income. But in a certain light, this boutique fitness offering could be a budget choice: Analyst Paul Golding of Macquarie notes that Peloton is making the largest sales gains in households with income under $75,000.
The sticker shock of the bike and the expensive monthly subscription it needs has turned off consumers before, but Peloton’s argument is that for a household with two users, the monthly payment for both the subscription and equipment, if paid in installments, is significantly less at $97 than two boutique gym memberships. “It also goes to show that however expensive a piece of equipment might seem, the industry has found ways of conveying the value as well as the flexibility that that brings,” Golding says.
“Home equipment, home exercise, is one of these trends that is likely to continue,” Josey says. He expects further diversification into this space but says Peloton is well positioned and ahead of its boutique virtual fitness competitors like Echelon, Myx Fitness, and Mirror.
The bottom line is that, like everything else, the fitness industry has been changed by the pandemic. But that doesn’t mean people are going to stop working out together. “I don’t think people are going to want to stay at home forever,” says B. Nalani Butler, a professor of sport management at Kennesaw State University. “Everybody, right now, is just craving that sense of community, and sports really does bring that.”
Butler says fitness and sports venues are closely watching what happens as Disney properties reopen. “From what I understand, they’re really setting the standards for how we’re going to be doing everything in sports,” she says, “from face masks to cashless payments to temperature checks when you go in.”
Reopened fitness centers at all segments of the market have implemented some of those measures already. But it’s likely to be months or years before the industry stabilizes, because a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is at least a year away, according to most estimates. But the rapid shift occasioned by the pandemic has shown two important things: The closer virtual fitness products can get to replicating the community impact of fitness, the more likely they are to succeed; and when it’s possible, many are eager to sweat among their friends once again.