It’s been a tough trot for gyms over the past few months with lockdown forcing most, if not all, to bolt the doors shut.
And even as restrictions ease – in Australia, anyway – CV-19 may continue to play havoc according to a new study that shows many gym goers are cancelling memberships en masse with no plans to return.
The study was conducted by US sportswear comparison site RunRepeat and surveyed the gym-going intentions of Americans, Brits and Australians.
Of the 10,824 respondents, some 5,052 with gym memberships said they would not return to their gym when it reopens (46.67 per cent) and 5,772 said they would return (53.33 per cent).
Australia had the highest amount of members who’d either already canceled or were considering canceling their memberships (41.15 per cent).
The study did not reveal the reasons why people didn’t want to return nor did it offer an explanation on how people were now exercising save to say that 88 per cent of respondents were exercising more during lockdown.
American’s were the least likely to return to their gym of any country with 50.16 per cent stating they would not return to their gyms when reopened.
When asked about their plans regarding their gym memberships, over one third (36.57 per cent) of respondents globally said they have already canceled (12.39 per cent) or are considering canceling their memberships (24.18 per cent).
The United Kingdom had the highest percentage of gym members who have already canceled their memberships (18.92 per cent). Australians had the highest percentage of gym members who had either already canceled or were considering canceling their gym membership (41.15 per cent).
According to the study, women were less likely to return to their gyms (52.25 per cent) when reopened than men (45.75 per cent).
Although women were less likely to return to the gym, men are more likely to cancel or consider canceling their memberships (37.27 per cent) in comparison to women (32.26 per cent).
