{"id":374,"date":"2015-03-26T00:00:58","date_gmt":"2015-03-26T05:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/?p=374"},"modified":"2015-03-26T17:19:15","modified_gmt":"2015-03-26T22:19:15","slug":"ihrsa-releases-new-seasonal-consumer-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/ihrsa\/ihrsa-releases-new-seasonal-consumer-report\/","title":{"rendered":"IHRSA Releases New Seasonal Consumer Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"IHRSA:IHRSA: Success By Association<\/p>\n

BOSTON, MA<\/strong> \u2013 The International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association released the latest edition of the IHRSA Health Consumer Seasonal Trend Report<\/em> (Spring 2015), which presents and analyzes the behavior of American health club-goers over the spring and summer months.<\/p>\n

The report most notably finds that health club members tend to be between the ages of 18-44, but that the most active users are over the age of 35. Meanwhile, members 35 and older visited their club 20-50% more often than members under 35, on average. Among non-member users, adults over the age of 55 visited health clubs far more frequently than those in younger generations.<\/p>\n

Of these latest findings, IHRSA\u2019s executive vice president of global products, Jay Ablondi, says, \u201cThey paint a very clear opportunity for health club growth. With more than 70 million Baby Boomers in America, the health club industry has a large reserve of prospects to tap for membership and other offerings. Based on data from the IHRSA Seasonal Trend Report<\/em>, health clubs may want to consider providing programming to attract older adults, such as group exercise classes that focus on balance and stability, and low-impact exercises and mind-body programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Seasonal Trend Report<\/em> highlights another potentially fruitful group of prospects: non-members. According to the report, one out of every five health club visitors over the spring and summer months is a non-member. \u201cIt\u2019s possible that there is an opportunity to convert non-members to members,\u201d says Melissa Rodriguez, IHRSA\u2019s research manager. \u201cInterestingly, non-member health club users tend to be women, while the most frequent health club user members are also women. This suggests there is value in clubs assessing how they engage female prospects,\u201d adds Rodriguez.<\/p>\n

The report also finds an interesting dichotomy between member usage patterns and programming. \u201cIn some instances, where the majority of club operators say they offer trendy programs such as cardio kickboxing, group cycling, step, cross training or boot camp, only a small percentage of members actually say they take these classes,\u201d explains Stephen Tharrett, partner of ClubIntel, who co-authored the report. \u201cFrom a programming perspective it looks as though there’s opportunity to carefully consider what a club offers its members since the programs a club offers determines to a large degree the generation they attract.\u201d<\/p>\n

The following are a few other notable findings readers will discover in IHRSA\u2019s Seasonal Trend Report<\/em> on fitness participation over the spring and summer months:<\/p>\n