IHRSA releases The Health Club Consumer Report: 2011 Health Club Activity, Usage, Trends & Analysis
The International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) announced today the release of The IHRSA Health Club Consumer Report: 2011 Health Club Activity, Usage, Trends & Analysis. This report analyzes demographics and participation trends of American health club consumers and expands on profit center opportunities for club operators.
“The IHRSA Health Club Consumer Report is both a valuable reference and indispensable guide,” says Jay Ablondi, IHRSA’s executive vice president of global products. “This report provides health club membership statistics and guidance beyond the numbers to help club operators better understand and engage their members.”
According to the report, the “typical” health club member has the following characteristics:
- Equally likely to be male or female
- Be between the ages of 25-44 (average age of 39.5 years)
- College graduate or higher
- Earns at least $75,000 annually
- Been a member between two and five years
Other topics covered in The IHRSA Health Club Consumer Report include health club membership fees, market share by club type, attendance, and consumer profiles. The report also includes non-club activity participation by index, which provides additional insight into sports and leisure activities members take part in outside of their health club. New to this year’s report is three-year membership trends, new member insights, and membership outlook.
“In 2010, we saw membership reach an all-time high of 50.2 million members, which was fueled mostly in part by new membership growth” says Melissa Rodriguez, IHRSA research manager. “The ability of club operators to attract new members attest to the industry’s strength, and now lies the challenge to ensure new members are frequently attending their clubs for years to come.”
Nearly three out of five new members were female. This compares with a near-even male-female split of long-term health club members. Since two-thirds of group exercise participants are females, club operators may implement a program incentivizing frequent usage of group exercise.
The IHRSA Health Club Consumer Report is based on analysis of 38,742 online interviews that were carried out with a nationwide sample of individuals and households in early 2011. Produced in conjunction with Sports Marketing Surveys, this publication is available in PDF format at ihrsa.org/store for $49.95 (IHRSA member price) and $99.95 (non-members). As a supplement to the report, cross-tabular data with in-depth breakouts is available for $69.95 (IHRSA member price) and $139.95 (non-members). For more information on IHRSA research, please visit ihrsa.org/research. Contact pr@ihrsa.org with media inquiries, or call +1/617-951-0055.
Methodology: During January 2011/early February 2011, a total of 38,742 online interviews were carried out with a nationwide sample of individuals and households from the U.S. Online Panel operated by Synovate. A total of 15,086 individual and 23,656 household surveys were completed. The total panel has over 1 million members and is maintained to be representative of the U.S. population. Oversampling of ethnic groups took place to boost responses from typically under-represented groups.
Popularity: 4% [?]
