Philly gyms get creative after New Year’s to make money post-pandemic

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Gym owners and personal trainers could always bank on a booming business in January. Each year, New Year’s resolutions brought droves of hyper-motivated people into their fitness studios (at least for a few weeks) and made them money.

But in the early days of 2023, as the economy remains unsteady and the effects of the pandemic linger, many in the Philadelphia region’s health and wellness industry are more uncertain about a January financial uptick.

Some did say they had seen signs of a New-Year-induced boost — and while it is smaller than in pre-COVID times, it is more significant than last year when the omicron variant kept people away from large groups.

Many people, however, remain ambivalent about the value of in-person fitness or paid weight-loss programs due to nearly three years of largely virtual living, those in the industry said.

“Heading into ‘23, it is going to be really, really tricky for clubs,” said Tim Rubin, owner of the Sporting Club Main Line in Bryn Mawr. “You are now fighting inflation and the cottage industry that arose during COVID: the at-home workouts or ‘workarounds,’” such as running, walking, or working out in other ways outdoors.

Business owners say they are having to work harder than ever to lure in new clients, employing different New Year’s marketing strategies — and sometimes steeper discounts — to attract those who are on the fence. And that can impact their bottom lines.

For decades, the health and wellness industry has experienced, by and large, the same seasonal changes, said more than a dozen people in the local and national fitness and nutrition industry. January accounts for more than 10% of new gym memberships each year, according to data from the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association.

“It was always huge, no matter what, for the month of January and then it started to taper off in February and March,” said Josh Leve, founder and CEO of the Fitness Business Association, noting that the economic impact for gyms lasted longer since some resolution makers did not or could not immediately cancel their memberships. “The fitness facilities that have found a lot of success really support these new [January] members.”

New tactics needed

Leve, a national industry expert, predicted this January would be the most successful since the pandemic began but said gym owners could no longer sit back and expect the New Year’s rush to flood in on its own. They have to get creative in the ways that add value to their programs, he said, and focus on creating a warm and welcoming environment that gets new January gym-goers to stay, if owners want to continue to see financial gain.

January remains “Super Bowl season” for gyms, said Christine Smith, chief marketing officer for the Camp Hill, Pa.-based Planet Fitness franchisee group, National Fitness Partners, which operates at more than 40 locations in the Philadelphia region.

But in recent years, customer priorities have changed, Smith said, and the company has adjusted its New Year’s approach, including its marketing campaigns, accordingly.

“Pre-COVID, it was more focused on the physical portion — ‘You’ve got to get in shape. You’ve got to lose weight,’” Smith said. “Now it is overall health and mental health.”

A recent Planet Fitness-commissioned survey that found 89% of people in the U.S. were concerned about low energy, so a new marketing campaign that began New Year’s Eve focuses on exercise as a way to increase energy levels, Smith said.

Elsewhere, gym owners are offering deals to entice new members, with the idea that they’ll end up staying longer once they see what the facility offers.

“I feel like as personal trainers we have to start giving out free things in order to reel people in,” said Noel Davis, owner of Old City’s Paris Fit Studios, which this week was offering several different free trials and has succeeded in part due to virtual programming. “They’re tight on cash. At the same time, we have to hustle to make money.”

Uneven pandemic recovery

For Nutrisystem, the national weight loss program headquartered in Fort Washington, January has historically been the month it sees the highest number of new subscriptions to its meal delivery program, said president Steve Mikulak.

And while the company declined to publicly share its exact number of subscribers, “January is still our biggest time,” he said. Even through the pandemic, Nutrisystem has seen three to four times growth in January compared to December, Mikulak said, and the first days of 2023 have shown promising signs that the trend will continue this year.

Elsewhere in the region, others in the health and fitness world are seeing signs of a January bump in business for the first time since the pandemic struck in March 2020.

In Wynnefield, Debra Williams said she has seen more people return to in-person classes at her boutique gym, Smart Fitness Studio, in recent weeks than at any other point since the pandemic began. She hasn’t offered any special New Year’s deals, she said, because her prices remain relatively low (a single class is $10 to $20, or less if purchased in a package).

At Fit Academy in Brewerytown, “it’s Jan. 3 and my entire calendar for this week is slammed” with sales consultations, owner Osayi Osunde said earlier this week.

The gym’s business has likely been boosted by incentives, he said. On the Fit Academy website — the homepage of which encourages people to join to become “A STRONGER ME IN ‘23″ — Osunde advertises three free sessions and a 21-day Ignition Challenge, which comes with a free consultation.

“I think the appetite for personal training is probably better than it has ever been,” Osunde said.

Tommie Knight has noticed that, too, he said, with an extra 30 or 40 people signing up for January personal training at his facility, Knight’s Gym, in East Falls. That bump is in addition to the dozens of people he regularly trains, he said.

Knight has offered slightly more of a discount than he did last January — a 15% off deal as compared to 10% — but he said the clients who come in for personal training are typically those with more disposable income.

In fact, he said, many of the faces in the gym now are not the same ones he saw this time last year, as rising costs elsewhere drove some longtime clients to cut the gym out of their budget. They have been replaced by young professionals and people 50 and older for whom the pandemic served as a reminder of the importance of their physical health.

‘All bets are off’

After a significant downturn in 2020, Rubin, of the Sporting Club Main Line, said he saw consistent growth in 2021 and into the first half of 2022. Then, the growth slowed, he said. Those who aren’t back in the gym yet are going to be harder to persuade, he said, as they may be satisfied with a new at-home routine or on a tighter budget due to inflation.

That has made predicting the future difficult.

“I hesitate to say [January] is going to be our best month this year, because all bets are off,” Rubin said. “You just have to work harder to generate new membership.”

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