"We haven't seen notable signs of boutique fitness slowing its growth trajectory over other fitness segments," explained Amaya Weddle, senior director of research and experiences at MINDBODY. (In other words, don't expect the front row of your Spin class to open up anytime soon.) But Amaya does believe that gyms will be a supplemental choice for studio-goers. "Boutique fitness is generally one modality, and we know that many consumers want variety in their workout routine," she said. "From a data perspective, what we see is a trend toward boutique fitness consumers carrying multiple memberships, or visiting multiple studios."
The data backs it up. MINDBODY conducted a survey of app users across the country, and 81 percent reported they have visited more than one studio in the past six months. The International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association's data corroborated this as well, reporting that two-thirds of the people who have memberships at boutique studios go to two or more facilities for their sweat sessions. "Some of those other facilities include multipurpose gyms," Amaya told POPSUGAR.
"In qualitative research, we often hear that MINDBODY app consumers often carry multiple memberships, or have class packages, so they can visit both boutique and multipurpose gyms because they want variety and aren't always wanting — or able — to go to classes as often as they want to work out," she said. "We see gyms as more complementary than competitive with our target consumer."
Twenty-five dollars for monthly access to an entire gym makes for an excellent supplement to a routine built on $35-per-session studio classes. In fact, it feels like a huge bargain.