As the global wellness industry continues to evolve, the United States health and fitness club market once again sees impressive aggregate growth. In February 2024, research firm Statista projected that this nationwide market would expand at a 7.81 percent annual rate from 2018 to 2024. For perspective, the United States fitness industry is expected to reach a collective 147 billion USD valuation by 2024.

3 Key Fitness Industry Trends for 2024

The United States fitness industry is affected by three major trends in 2024. Xponential Fitness is on pace with several key developments.

Tailored Member Fitness Experiences

In 2024, fitness center members expect a menu of specialized program offerings. Each program is built around a specific discipline, such as indoor cycling, strength training, or yoga. Members of all activity levels can participate in each program.

In an always-connected world we live in now, fitness center members also want the ability to schedule on-demand workouts via an online platform or targeted app. This functionality enables them to integrate their fitness activities into their daily and weekly schedules seamlessly.

Digital Technology Applications

Rapidly advancing digital technology continues to see applications in the fitness industry. A virtual fitness platform invites members to engage in energetic home-based workouts. This functionality came to the forefront during the COVID-19 pandemic. For many months, thousands of fitness enthusiasts focused on maintaining their workout schedules despite being locked down at home. 

Today, in-studio workouts are again the norm. However, forward-thinking fitness centers continue to offer virtual workouts for those members who desire that flexibility.

Fitness enthusiasts also continue their adoption of wearable technology. Besides tracking users' physical activity, wearables can monitor sleep quality and stress levels. Emerging wearable technology is geared toward health analytics and targeted coaching.

Wellness Sector Expansion

The United States' wellness market continues its impressive growth. In concert with this trend, fitness center members expect more wellness-focused classes benefiting both body and mind. Modalities such as yoga and Pilates are designed to build strength and flexibility while increasing mental clarity.

Wellness-related classes can benefit members of varied ages and fitness experience levels. Through these diverse offerings, the fitness center desires to enhance each member's well-being and quality of life.

Corporate wellness programs are also gaining ground. Companies recognize that physically and mentally healthy employees may be more productive. In addition, healthy, fit workers can reduce the business' healthcare costs by logging less sick time and resultant doctor visits.

Affirming the Xponential Fitness Mission

California-based Xponential Fitness has emerged as a wellness industry leader. Launched in 2017, the company is the largest health and wellness brand. Through its suite of specialized brands, Xponential Fitness is achieving its singular mission: to make health and wellness accessible to everyone. Sarah Luna, Xponential Fitness President since 2021, detailed the ways in which the company is meeting this overarching goal.

"Our company mission and ultimate goal is to make boutique fitness, health, and wellness accessible to everyone and to meet the consumer where they are; inclusive of our class and service offerings, membership options, vast footprint, and our ability to offer experiences in-studio, digitally, and even at sea!"

"We aim to ensure members have access to an Xponential experience that matches their individual needs and interests, and we do this by approaching the experience in an omnichannel way. Ultimately, this approach and offering drives customer engagement and membership retention, which correlate back to studio success," Sarah Luna concluded.

How Xponential Fitness Integrates Technology into Every Aspect of Operations

From its inception, Xponential Fitness has integrated digital technology into its member fitness experiences and franchise operations. Today, the company maintains a robust suite of offerings for each key group.

Enhanced Member Fitness Experiences

Through significant digital technology investments, Xponential Fitness invites members to experience its brands in one inclusive subscription. This multi-brand offering enables members to try new disciplines while promoting member retention. Xponential Fitness' XPASS and XPLUS offerings together deliver a holistic approach to fitness and wellness.

Snapshot of the XPASS Offering

The Xponential Fitness XPASS offering enables members to access all company brands via one recurring monthly membership. Members can easily switch back and forth across fitness disciplines.

Xponential Fitness studio-based consumers can also receive health-focused third-party rewards and offers. Categories include healthy foods, mental health, and appealing apparel—all key components of overall well-being.

Franchise owners can also realize an important XPASS benefit. If members receive unprecedented value for a single membership fee, their retention prospects may rise accordingly. This provides franchisees with more stable membership revenues over time.

Snapshot of the XPLUS Offering

As a complement to members' in-studio membership plans, Xponential Fitness developed the XPLUS offering. Here, members can tune into every fitness and wellness brand's digital classes (and other content) from their homes or while traveling.

Keeping the XPLUS content fresh is key to member retention. Toward that end, Xponential Fitness continues to launch new XPLUS offerings from the company's production facility. Over time, the XPLUS programming component will continue to strengthen consumers' Xponential Fitness brand loyalty.

More Streamlined Franchise Operations

The Xponential Fitness shared service platform uses digital technology and applications to support brands and franchisees. The company distributes learning enhancements to all brands, enabling improved efficiencies via digital technology. Xponential Fitness President Sarah Luna succinctly describes the wide-ranging scope of these technological investments.

"We have invested millions of dollars in both front and back-end technology, including apps, websites, lead forms, and a robust digital stack. This perpetual improvement of marketing, sales, and customer management allows for our brands and studios to become better, all together, instantaneously. In particular, we have invested in developing key features across our brands. [These include] our 'Refer a friend' in-app feature, challenges, integrated health data, and a new customer booking flow. [These features all work] to reduce customer acquisition cost (CAC), maximize member engagement and retention, and ease time spent by the studio on member management."

Digital Technology Creates Optimal Member Experiences

Xponential Fitness President Sarah Luna strongly believes that digital technology unifies members' in-person and virtual experiences. Through this omnichannel approach, franchisees can build a studio community while enhancing members' overall experiences.

"We believe our digital technology facilitates our mission by creating the very best consumer experience across both the digital journey and the in-person experiences, making it seamless from end to end. Customer touchpoints are methodical and allow our franchise owners to further focus on the localized experience, building a community within the studio as well as on the quality of the experience," Sarah Luna summarized. As Xponential Fitness continues to show robust growth, this committed technology advocate envisions additional applications that will benefit members and franchisees alike.