Market Report: Fitness Centers

Fitness centers are returning to pre-pandemic popularity among investors.

The 2020 global pandemic had a profound and lasting impact on many industries, reshaping the consumer world as we knew it. Fitness clubs were among the hardest hit by Covid-19, but an increased focus on health and wellness during lockdown created opportunities for the industry to thrive. According to ADM’s Outside Voice research, there was a nationwide correlation between the pandemic and consumers’ plans to spend more money on health and wellness-related items.

The rise of e-commerce also led to a growing demand for experiential retail. As mask restrictions lifted and vaccination rates increased, consumers became interested in activities that kept them out of the house. Experiential tenants are increasingly revitalizing the retail sector as these consumers venture out, with traffic to experiential destinations rising by 40% year-over-year in 2022, according to an article by GlobeSt. It’s evident that the discipline of going to a physical gym and the social aspect of working out with others help to maintain the routine of exercise, which cannot be reciprocated by e-commerce. The demand for experiential retail and social interaction is not only boosting foot traffic for fitness clubs but also for retailers located near fitness centers. Creditntell data shows that a retailer near a fitness center gets 2.5% more visits than it does in a corridor without a fitness tenant.