21 Powerful Stats on Customer Retention in the Fitness Industry

Last Updated on 7 April, 2025

Customer retention doesn’t come easy for fitness businesses. Even though people crave wellness, generating leads is only half of the equation. The real prize—and toughest part—is nurturing leads to gain loyal clientele.

Unfortunately, a lot of brands haven’t gotten the message. Loyal customers spent 67% more than new clients. Yet, only 18% of businesses make customer retention a priority.

The economic fallout is even worse. Subpar retention strategies account for $83 billion lost per year by American companies.

Now consider that 77% of people recommend companies based on previous positive experiences. Falling short doesn’t just sacrifice profitability in the here and now. It also hampers your power to succeed in the future.

Getting people in the door is the first step toward growth. The problem is keeping them. With all the work that goes into establishing that initial connection, you have to remember to nurture that relationship so it continues to grow. Here are a few undeniable customer retention stats in the fitness industry and basics to understand.

Customer retention: The fundamentals and why it’s so important

Customer retention entails keeping existing customers engaged and satisfied to reduce attrition. It can involve loyalty programs, feedback surveys, rewards, personalized experiences, and service initiatives.

Customer retention rates explained

Most businesses estimate retention as a straightforward percentage. Given a certain period, your retention rate is easy to calculate. Just divide the number of active clients at the end by the number of active users at the start of the same timeframe. Here’s the equation below:

(Number of active clients / total number of active users at the beginning of a time period) = customer retention rate

Why does doing the math matter? It quantifies your performance and viability as a business.

For example, one study of 1.47 million fitness club members in North America found that 67% remained members 12 months after joining. That figure dropped off to only 44% after 24 months and 20% after 36 months. Persistence is worthwhile!

Retention goes beyond making customers more likely to continue to work with your brand. Solid retention strategies also help you differentiate yourself from others. They make it easier to survive in a competitive field.

Why your retention strategy matters

The numbers don’t lie when it comes to customer retention in the fitness industry. There’s a direct correlation between catering to previous customers and achieving your health-centric mission. Check these customer retention stats out:

1. Think you’ll recover from poor first impressions? Think again: About 34% of consumers will never buy from a brand after just one bad experience. 43% will completely abandon companies that fall short of their expectations. (Oracle)
2. One in three Americans will quit being loyal after a single mistake, but even the most patient consumers have their limits. 92% ditch brands after they fail to correct course in a few tries. (Truelist)
3. Your retention strategy sets the stage for your market growth: 60% of millennials reported holding relationships with brands for more than 10 years. That number jumps to 77% for all consumers. (Review 42)
4. How much do businesses sacrifice to poor retention? One study claimed U.S. industries lost around $75 billion by failing to convince customers they were being heard. (SemRush)

Retaining a customer costs less than acquiring one.

Keeping people loyal takes hard work, but the effort is worth it. Here are some stats about customer retention that exemplify why:

5. Increasing retention by 5% can boost profits by anywhere from 25 to 95%. Repeat business is just one factor here—you’ll also save on outreach. Landing new customers costs up to 5 times more than retaining current ones. (Review 42)
6. Other research paints an even starker picture. American Express found getting new customers to be 6 to 7 times costlier. The Harvard Business Review pegged the outlay difference at 5 to 25 times greater. (American Express, Harvard Business Review)
7. Similar ideas apply to forging lasting ties, not just making short-term gains. Fostering long-term relationships with new clients can cost up to 16 times more than cultivating established ones. (Review42)

How retained/loyal customers impact revenue and profits

Loyalty doesn’t just sell new programs and classes. These customer retention facts show how it helps you upsell and drive revenue from existing offerings.

8. Customers care about quality, and they’re happy to shell out for it. 90% of people think it’s worth paying more for better experiences. (Truelist)
9. Everyone knows that happier customers drive more revenue, and this applies to loyalty, too. Your fans will spend 67% more than new clients will. (Markinblog).
10. Your biggest fans aren’t leaving their wits at the door. In fact, 73% will make future purchasing decisions based on past experiences. (Truelist)
11. Your market position reflects your use of customer retention metrics. Companies that use client behavioral data outperform others by 85% in sales. They also do 25% better in gross margins. (Gallup)
12. Clearing up problems fast boosts profitability. Customers who get complaints resolved with minimal delays have an 82% purchase intention rate. (SemRush)
13. Loyalty programs are key revenue drivers. 46% of people agree to increase their spending after joining. Not only that, but 83% say they’re invested enough to keep making purchases. (SemRush)

How to boost retention with digital marketing

Boosting retention is a big mountain to climb—but it is climbable. Here are some strategies that might help:

14. Good software makes it easier to help people track their fitness goals from their very first visit, and that keeps them engaged. A controlled study by Dr. Paul Bedford studied fitness club members to drive this point home. After six months, 87% of those who received full onboarding stayed active. By contrast, only 60% of those who received minimal onboarding remained active. (Mobile FiT)
15. Bring your brand online to lower barriers to sustained engagement. Take a note from loyalty program innovators: Leaders like Vanguard conduct most of their transactions online to make life simpler for customers. (Bain)
16. Good marketers never overlook digital outreach, and there’s no shortage of available avenues. As a result, 89% prefer email for customer retention, 28% use social media, and 44% focus on digital apps. This makes sense considering 79% of consumers have made smartphone purchases within the last six months. (Review42, SemRush, OuterBox)
17. A little effort goes a long way. It only takes two monthly staff-client interactions to slash fitness club member cancellations by 33%. (RunRepeat)
18. How you get the message across is important, too. 48% of customers have jumped ship in favor of a competitor after visiting a website that was poorly curated or difficult to navigate. (Accenture)

How loyal customers sustain growth with reviews and referrals

Word of mouth doesn’t happen by magic. As these figures reveal, customer retention rates in the fitness industry and repeat business complement each other.

19. Your business model matters. Compared to traditional health clubs, studios have a 75.9% higher average retention rate. This holds true even when you account for the top performers! (Association of Fitness Studios)
20. What makes digital outreach work? Here’s a hint: Referral marketing accounts for 26% of proven effective tactics. Referred clients also have a 16% higher lifetime value. (SemRush, Wharton)
21. Never discount the power of healthy interactions, because your customers don’t either. 77% of consumers recommend companies following positive experiences. (Truelist)

Key takeaways and how to start leveraging customer retention today

Retaining existing customers is a total game-changer—one that could decide your future as a wellness business.

Customer retention is far cheaper than acquiring new customers. It drives revenue and increases profitability. Success takes time and fostering an environment of loyalty and trust gives your brand the staying power it needs to thrive.

What’s the best way to increase customer retention in the fitness industry? Start by ensuring your customers feel engaged, satisfied, and taken care of throughout their entire journey—not just at the most noteworthy touchpoints, like the beginning or when it’s time to renew.

However, don’t let customer retention metrics get ahead of you. WellnessLiving offers powerful tools to help you take charge of your business outcomes. From advanced reporting and predictive dashboards to built-in rewards, client profiles, and automated communication tools, we make it effortless for businesses to keep customers and propel long-term growth.

We’re all about empowering you to do better in measurable ways: Customers who use our retention tools see increased retention rates of up to 30%! Want to discover how WellnessLiving can help you grow with actionable insights? Schedule your free, no-commitment demo today.