It is without doubt that 2020 saw the online fitness / virtual fitness market go through the roof as it is now seen as an attractive option for gym members worldwide. Before the pandemic, the online fitness market was valued at approximately 6 billion US Dollars. It is now predicted to grow at a 33.1% CAGR and to be 59 billion US Dollars by 2027. While North America currently owns the largest market share of the online fitness market, Asia is expected to drive the most growth in the coming years.
What the pandemic has done is to raise the importance of living a healthier lifestyle. Busy family and work schedules have driven a significant surge in demand for online and virtual based fitness programmes. Limited access to gyms and work out studios due to the current COVID-19 situation is also driving the growth of the global online and virtual fitness market.
The global virtual fitness market is experiencing tremendous growth, due to people shifting away from traditional gyms towards virtual fitness solutions. During the pandemic, Daily Burn, Inc., a leading health and virtual fitness company, saw a 268% year-over-year increase in membership signups. In addition and according to the ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine), fitness apps ranked 13th in 2019 fitness trends.
The growing number of obese children and global obesity rate is expected to drive overall demand for fitness programs for many years, which will help boost the virtual fitness market. A recent survey conducted by the World Obesity Federation showed that more than 150 million children worldwide were obese in 2019, and this is expected to rise to 206 million by the end of 2025. All of these factors are fueling the rapid growth of the virtual fitness market for many years to come.
The coronavirus pandemic had the unexpected effect of spurring the growth of the virtual fitness market. During the COVID-19 pandemic, fitness enthusiasts and health-conscious people swiftly shifted to innovative video exercise platforms. In addition, startups such as Fitternity, Fittr, and HealthifyMe announced that they had gained more customers.
According to market research firm, Research Dive, the global virtual fitness market accounted for approximately 6 billion US dollars in 2019 and is expected to reach 59 billion US dollars by 2027. This is an impressive cumulative average growth rate (CAGR) of 33.5% for the period 2020-2027.
As mentioned previously, the global virtual fitness market is anticipated to experience tremendous growth, owing to the rapid shift of people away from gyms and offline fitness centers and towards virtual fitness solutions.
Author: Sean T. Ngo is the CEO and Co-Founder of one of Asia’s leading franchise consultancy, VF Franchise Consulting. He is Vietnamese American and has been living in Vietnam for over 16 years. You can reach him at sean@vffranchiseconsulting.com or info@vffranchiseconsulting.com.
