ClassPass Releases “Comeback Report”- Nine Out of Ten Appointments Booked on App Are In-Person, Showing a Return to Gyms and Studios
ClassPass saw a doubling of its U.S. user base from May to June, as mass vaccinations ushered a return to public places.
ClassPass, the global subscription service that distributes “credits” to access to different gyms, classes and health/beauty services for a monthly fee, conducted a poll of its members to gauge how they were utilizing wellness spaces in the months since COVID-19 vaccinations ushered a return to public spaces in many countries.
According to ClassPass Comeback Report: Fitness and Beauty Trends 2021, nine out of ten classes booked via ClassPass were in-person, after a year of diminished foot traffic for gyms and fitness studios and increased offerings and awareness of online classes.
The most common reason for returning, espoused by 81 percent of respondents, is that “they push themselves harder in class than they do on their own,” in the words of the report. Two thirds said they returned to access equipment, which may explain why four of the five most popular activity types — strength training, indoor cycling, Pilates and barre — required specialty equipment.
The other, and second-most popular activity overall, was in-person yoga. Livestream yoga was the only digital class in ClassPass’s top ten, coming in at number nine, which may speak to the ease of home practice. (The top ten was rounded out by boxing at six, “gym time” at seven, massage at eight and running at ten.)
This report is just a poll of people on ClassPass, who may be more inclined for in-person activities because of its business model of allowing a sampling of wellness services — most of them traditionally done in brick-and-mortar businesses — but the ranks of ClassPass users are growing, according to the company, doubling in the U.S. and tripling in the U.K., from May 1 to June 10 of this year in another signal of growing comfort with in-person workouts.
Since ClassPass’s last survey of members in December, 40,000 businesses in its network reopened. There are not many comparisons to be drawn between the two reports, because the new one, compiled from data gathered between April and June of this year, switched to questions specific to returns to physical fitness spaces. Though there was one interesting contrast: 5:30 p.m. is once again the most common workout time; in the December report, compiled at the height of community transmission, it was lunchtime.
The most popular beauty appointments were pedicures, manicures and facials, in that order, and the survey writers inferred a return to “weekend glow-ups,” in preparation for social occasions, because the most popular day for beauty appointments was Friday.
Other findings included:
– 87 percent of respondents said they were fully vaccinated and another six said they had received one vaccine dosage.
– 74 percent said they prefer to have an instructor’s direction and encouragement when working out.
– 67 percent said in-studio classes make it easier to work out regularly.
– 60 percent said in-person classes and appointments are better for their mental health than at-home digital routines.
– 69 percent said they would prefer returning to classes that require a vaccination, though only 18 percent said they would only go to studios that require participants to be vaccinated.
