The closure of gyms and leisure centres has left a significant number of people unable to attend their regular place of exercise.

Consumers have adapted to self-isolation with new daily routines, including working from home and attending virtual training. And because of this, brands have also had to adapt and consider the consumers who were in a regular gym routine and solve their problem of how to keep fit from home.

By empowering technology, brands are tailoring their offerings to reach the at-home fitness consumers, by offering exercise solutions through their websites and social media platforms, both live and pre-recorded – targeting both new and brand-loyal consumers as part of the exercise at-home regime.

The younger audience are the most frequent users of virtual fitness, although the upcoming months may provide an opportunity for fitness brands to target a variety of consumers that are in the peak of their disrupted routine.

It is predicted that 54% of gym users are looking for quality digital services from their usual membership brands, in replacement for their facilities being closed, and expect these virtual classes to be just as engaging as in-person classes. Jo Wicks has added over a million followers to his YouTube channel in his free PE lesson following, creating for the first time a family-led virtual fitness offering which may well provide queues for future on and offline product launches.

The UK fitness industry is worth around £21.7bn a year and a significant part of this is the home fitness market. Google Trends has shown a sharp increase in searches for home exercise equipment, from dumbbells to yoga mats, with consumers seeking inspiration and searching ‘exercise at home’.

Over the coming months, fitness brands need to listen to their consumers and their expectations whilst expanding their virtual presence. Brands are also seeing an increase in demand for home fitness equipment as consumers adjust to keeping fit at home – this is a fantastic opportunity for brands to both innovate and own the home fitness space by creating products that transcend both the gym and home environments.

Our award-winning work for global fitness brand Body Sculpture, US boutique brand Sherpa, UK gym of the year Fitness Garage and our recent multi-award-winning rebrand of the leisure trust BPL’s fitness offer Yourspace has given us unprecedented insights into both the gym and home fitness markets…

So, we’re ready to help you with a global track record of market-beating thinking and brand muscle beefing.

Creating a robust brand strategy and positioning has never been more important in a world where predicting the future is so complex. As we come out of this extraordinary time there will be a more level playing field – let us help you be first to market.