China’s vigorous development of fitness and leisure consumption makes it easier for fitness to ＂punch in＂
Source: Action Plan for Further Promoting Sports Consumption (2019— 2020) "
Life service industry is an important field to enhance people’s well-being and meet people’s growing needs for a better life. The central economic work conference held at the end of last year proposed to promote the upgrading of life service industry to high quality and diversification.
At present, in what aspects has China’s life service industry made great progress? Compared with people’s consumption demand, what shortcomings are there? What should be done to improve the supply level and satisfy the people’s lives? Recently, the reporter focused on gyms, housekeeping services, convenience stores, charging piles and other sub-sectors for interviews.
— — Editor
Fitness consumption is popular all the way.
Fitness facilities still show the characteristics of relatively insufficient total amount and unbalanced geographical distribution.
"A new gym is opened in our community, and it only costs more than 2,000 yuan in half a year; The space inside is quite large, and the fitness facilities are relatively complete. It can be reached within 3 minutes’ walk. " Speaking of the newly opened fitness studio called "Daily fitness", Lv Wendong, a resident who lives in Jintaili Community, Chaoyang District, Beijing, is very excited. As a sports enthusiast, Lu Wendong likes running and frequents the gym. Barbells, dumbbells, spinning bikes and bench presses are all his strengths.
"Usually, the work pressure is high, and there is excess fat in the diet. Going to the gym is a good way to decompress and relax and keep fit. It was a 15-minute walk to the nearest gym, which was a bit far. It’s so convenient to lift your feet now. " Lu Wendong said.
Nowadays, people’s enthusiasm for fitness consumption is high. On treadmills, yoga mats and all kinds of equipment, you can see the scene of fitness enthusiasts sweating. According to the data released by Xiaohongshu, a life platform, nearly 10 million people learned scientific fitness methods through this platform in 2019, and the content of sports and fitness increased by 98.62% over the previous year.
The popularity of fitness consumption is inseparable from the sustained release of favorable policies. In 2009, China established the first national fitness day; In 2014, national fitness rose to a national strategy; According to iResearch’s White Paper on the Development Trend of Sports and Fitness Industry in China (2019), there were 37,627 gymnasiums in China in 2017, of which fitness studios accounted for 70.2% and large clubs accounted for 29.8%; In January 2019, the State Sports General Administration and the Development and Reform Commission issued the Action Plan for Further Promoting Sports Consumption (2019— 2020) proposes that by 2020, the total scale of national sports consumption will reach 1.5 trillion yuan.
Wei Pengju, dean of the Cultural and Economic Research Institute of the Central University of Finance and Economics, believes that there are roughly four stages in the development of China’s sports and fitness industry: voluntary sports for the masses before 2000; After 2000, the first batch of fitness club brands appeared one after another, mostly in first-tier cities; After 2008, with the successful hosting of the Beijing Olympic Games, sports and fitness changed from spontaneous leisure mode to professional guidance mode, and the demand for fitness services increased. In recent years, Internet fitness has risen, and technology has driven the industry to upgrade.
"In recent years, the development of China’s fitness industry has made great progress in terms of quantity growth and quality construction, but it is undeniable that compared with the huge sports consumer groups, domestic fitness facilities still show the characteristics of relatively insufficient total and unbalanced geographical distribution." Mei Chao, head of the comprehensive leisure and entertainment business department of Meituan to the store, said.
The "Meituan Review Fitness Industry Report" released by Meituan Review shows that the number of stores such as fitness clubs in first-tier cities has reached 4,225; The number of private education studios is huge, with 9,411 stores in first-tier cities, more than 2.2 times that of fitness clubs. Shanghai and Beijing are the cities with the largest number of fitness centers in China. The total number of fitness clubs in the two cities is about 2,800, and the total number of private education studios is about 6,700.
"In first-and second-tier cities, gyms are still quite easy to find; However, when you travel to third-and fourth-tier cities on business, you will find it quite difficult to find a gym, which shows that some chain gym brands have not extended their reach to more cities. " Lu Wendong said.
Intelligent fitness refreshing experience
Focusing on the needs of users, intelligent technology is applied to sports scene construction, equipment development and curriculum service innovation.
"Before, I mostly practiced fitness at home with video courses on the fitness APP Keep; Recently, I like offline sports and accept the guidance of professional coaches on the spot, and the fitness effect is better. " Zhu Yuanyuan, a white-collar worker who works near Xizhimen, said.
Last Saturday, Zhu Yuanyuan took part in a training in a gym. "The decoration style of the space is what I like, giving people a sense of fashion. The hardware facilities are also perfect, including lockers, changing rooms and direct drinking water. More importantly, after the whole training, the sense of science and technology, professionalism and interest are very strong, and the training effect is very good. " Zhu Yuanyuan said.
"Different from the traditional gym, our group class adopts 20-mdash; The teaching mode of 30-person small group class provides users with more than 10 kinds of course choices including self-developed and third-party courses. Users can freely choose courses according to their own level and interests. " Yang Mutian, director of space operation of this gym, said that users can make a single APPointment to pay for the appropriate course at any time on the mobile app according to their own time and preferences, making "buying sports" as simple as buying movie tickets.
In recent years, the application of mobile Internet has developed rapidly, and "internet plus Fitness" has been favored by more and more fitness enthusiasts. It is more mobile, smarter and lighter, which has refreshed people’s consumption experience.
"The future development direction of the sports and fitness industry should be digital, intelligent and professional." Han Wei, the founder of Leke Movement, said that with the help of the Internet, the fitness platform can form a personal "fitness file" for users. According to the "fitness file", the coach can issue a targeted exercise "prescription", make effective fitness guidance and avoid unscientific fitness.
"The sports and fitness industry should adapt to the changes in user needs and keep moving forward." Mei Chao believes that in the Internet scenario, users expect the upgrade of intelligent services, especially the application and feedback of sports data. Sports and fitness enterprises should focus on users’ needs, tap more consumption points and consumption scenes in users’ lives, and integrate the application of intelligent technology into sports scene construction, sports equipment development and quality course service innovation by combining online and offline, so as to create a more perfect sports and fitness ecosystem for users.
Han Wei said that with the rapid growth of fitness demand, China’s fitness industry is changing from a "prepaid cash flow model" with high expenses and few audiences to a "digital development and operation model" with just-needed services and fair consumption to meet the needs of communities and office buildings. Fitness institutions should reduce fitness costs and improve the efficiency of fitness venues through digital transformation, so that more users can enjoy high-frequency fitness exercise opportunities.
Fitness service needs to be upgraded urgently.
In some gymnasiums, the sanitary conditions and equipment integrity are not satisfactory.
In the first half of last year, Liu Jianming, who worked in a construction company in Shenzhen, was very depressed. He was sent by the company to a central province to supervise the project, which lasted for half a year. After work, Liu Jianming set up a fitness annual card in a local fitness club. Before leaving, he wanted to transfer the card, but he didn’t expect to be splashed with cold water: the transfer of the card should be charged at 40% of the remaining expenses in the card, and the balance should be recharged at a ratio of 1: 1. "I have about 1000 yuan left in my card. According to this calculation, I have to deduct 400 yuan before I transfer a card, and I have to charge 600 yuan again!"
"I wanted to make it convenient to run a prepaid card for fitness consumption, but the prepaid card became ‘ Bad heart card ’ ‘ Confused card ’ 。” Liu Jianming is a little angry.
According to the data released by Shenzhen Consumers Association, in the first eight months of last year, the city consumers association received 3038 complaints about the consumption of fitness prepaid cards, an increase of 82.46% compared with the same period in 2018. The main problems include: applying for a refund after recharging the membership fee cannot be negotiated with the merchant; Consumers can’t enjoy follow-up services due to reasons such as decoration, relocation and transfer of businesses; There are differences between pre-sale and after-sale private education service quality; After the membership card is sold, it is not allowed to transfer the card or it needs to pay unreasonable handling fees.
"A few fitness institutions have closed down, lost money, lost contact and other phenomena due to broken capital chains and poor management, which has caused consumers to suffer losses." Chen Yinjiang, deputy secretary general of china law society Consumer Protection Law Research Association, said.
Some fitness consumers will also encounter the overlord clause of the gym: "I am not responsible for the loss of items" and "I will bear the risk of sports myself"; In some gymnasiums, the sanitary condition, equipment integrity and so on are not satisfactory, and the level of coaches and the scientific nature of courses are also lacking, which have become a stumbling block for people to enter the gym.
"When exercising in the gym, consumers are often prone to two kinds of disputes. One is that the stored items are stolen, and the other is that they are physically injured when exercising. According to the survey of China Consumers Association, although 90% of the businesses in the fitness industry have signed contracts or provided service introductions, the contents of contracts often require consumers to bear their own risks, especially in the above two cases. This violates the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, and this unreasonable provision should be abolished. " Chen Yinjiang said.
Experts believe that in view of the general pain points of consumption, the fitness service industry should be upgraded as soon as possible to improve its service capacity and service level. "Only in this way can we get more repeat customers and promote the stable and far-reaching development of the industry."