Happy New Year for gyms as memberships bulk up in January

The spike in memberships this January has been twice that seen in pre-pandemic times, said Nawaz Shaikh, a wellness expert and founder of FITX Transformation. Source: Reuters

Signing up for a gym membership is a New Year’s resolution for many but for 30-year-old Akash Mehta, a resident of Bengaluru, fitness became the top priority for a fresh start in 2023.

The Covid-19 pandemic made us realise that staying healthy is important, said Mehta. "While the plan was to take up a gym membership a few years back, I was stalling. Then came the pandemic and that delayed the plan. So my New Year's resolution for 2023 was to be part of a gym."

Like Mehta, more people have become conscious about their health and this has led to a double-digit increase in the number of gym membership sign-ups in January versus the same period in pre-Covid times, said gym owners.

Health conscious

“We’ve seen an approximately 25 percent increase (this January) of new members compared to usual January numbers,” said Kris Gethin, a trainer who has worked with Bollywood actors like Hrithik Roshan, Arjun Kapoor, Ranveer Singh and Karan Johar, and is the owner of Kris Gethin Gyms.

The spike in memberships this January has been twice that seen in pre-pandemic times, said Nawaz Shaikh, a wellness expert and founder of FITX Transformation. “The difference is that back then people didn’t take health and wellness as seriously as they are taking now," he said.

While almost everybody resolves to get fitter in the new year, people’s awareness of the importance of wellbeing post-Covid has driven enrolment in gyms, said Kritika Makker Kapoor, director, SK-27 GYM, a franchise of actor Salman Khan's gym brand.

"In our conversation with new members who have signed up, we have noted that now there is more focus on eating habits, good health and staying away from sickness as many lost loved ones during the pandemic," said Kaustav Baruah, owner of Oncemore Crossfit gym.

While January is traditionally one of the most profitable months for gyms (given the dropout rates), overall the scenario for the industry has changed post-Covid, said Nishad Gabhawala, owner, Mould Fitness gym.

"Pre-Covid, the situation was either we had very good months or very bad months but post-Covid the fluctuations aren't that much because people are just wanting to get out. Every month, I get lot of walk-ins and telephonic enquiries," he said.

The fitness industry is now performing better than the pre-pandemic levels, said Naresh Krishnaswamy, Business Head, Cult.fit. "After the COVID-19 pandemic, people have become more health conscious, resulting in a behavioral shift that is inclined towards increased activity in sports and fitness."

This year is much different to how it was 5 years ago when working on one’s own fitness was seen as an extracurricular activity or a 'nice-to-do' activity, said Akshay Verma, Co-Founder, FITPASS, a fitness membership platform.

New Year resolution

For Gabhawala, lead generation for memberships started from December last year. "In the first 10 days of January, sales have been more this year because this year the first Monday arrived early (on the second day of the year)."

Looking for fresh start in a new year, people start attending gyms from the first Monday to stay motivated throughout the week. "January accounts for 15 percent of my yearly sales and we get 40-45 percent sales in the January to March quarter," he added.

“Compared to December (2022), we have seen a 25 percent spike in new sign-ups in January,” said Pavan Kadam, founder of Mumbai-based gym The Strength Company.

January traditionally sees the highest sales of gym memberships, and sales start dropping post-March, said gym owners. Krititka Kapoor of SK-27 GYM said that between May and June, membership declines by 8-12 percent. The second big drop is seen around Diwali when membership sales are down by 12-15 percent, she added.

"On an average 20-40 percent sign ups take place in January depending on the gym location," said Gethin.

FITPASS had seen a 4X increase in membership in January 2022 as compared to the pre-Covid period (January 2020). "For the current year (January 2023), the membership enrolment has observed a growth of 3X as compared to January 2022," said Verma.

January is the busiest month in the fitness business, said Kapoor. "New year, new me is how people begin their new fitness quest. The first three to four months of the year are often busy, fuelled by New Year's resolutions and the colder weather pushing people to exercise in gyms."

Gabhawala said that one other major reason for the spike in January sales is the influence of social circles. "Many join gyms because their friends are doing so and people follow the trend of let's do something new in the New Year, which leads to more sales across January to March."

Shaikh listed six reasons for the surge in enrolments in January. "New Year’s resolutions, weight gain from the holiday season, wanting to start a fresh journey towards fitness, wedding season, wanting to feel more motivated. Also being used to online coaching due to Covid, people now want to experience the feel of an actual gym and facilities like old times," he said.

Gyms, especially in cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru, see a 25 percent increase in profits in January compared to other months, said Shaikh.

"Many fitness centres give solid discounts, some of them even offer up to 80 percent off on memberships. This results in heavy flooding of clients. And once people start coming to the facility (gyms), they get used to the feeling of coming to a gym. After that, the next renewal becomes easy and referral numbers shoot up as clients want to get their friends and family as well."