Will D2C Be A Persistent Strategy in the Fitness Industry?

 

Key Points:

  • With mobile app and digital communication channels, the fitness industry extended their membership reach outside of just the facility to patrons who may not feel comfortable returning to an in-person health club.
  • Body Kore was able to increase its D2C sale percentage to 30% during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Fitness On Demand built brand awareness by offering its virtual workouts for use in gym facilities or in the comfort of a user’s home through its mobile & web applications.

Commentary:

VersatilIty is something that can benefit brands during unexpected industry-wide disruptions, whether that’s the ability to quickly shift gears when times get tough, or provide the same quality experience in multiple ways for varying demographics. For the past year and a half, that versatility has been needed in the fitness industry, and virtual workout solutions company Fitness on Demand is no stranger to building versatility into its business model. MarketScale spoke with Armin Krienke, the company’s Director of Business Development, at IRHSA 2021 on how they have been able to utilize their product with gym facilities to help keep clients engaged, even clients who may not feel comfortable going back to the facility. MarketScale also spoke with Body Kore’s President Leo Chang, a fitness equipment vendor, who also adjusted to disruptions by leaning more on D2C sales during the pandemic instead of on B2B sales.

More Stories From IHRSA 2021:

Putting the Member First: Devising New Strategies for Health Clubs to Thrive

Trade Shows Are Back, and That Means Quality Connections for Fitness Vendors

 

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

AI data center
Power, Cooling, and Risk: What It Takes to Bring a 100MW AI Data Center Online
March 28, 2026

The industry knows how to build data centers. What it’s still figuring out is how to turn on AI factories at scale. With facilities now crossing 100 megawatts—far beyond the 5 to 10 megawatt norm of traditional builds—operators are no longer just validating equipment. They’re testing whether entire systems—power, cooling, controls, and the teams behind…

Read More
beauty
Building Beauty for Real Women: Why Brands Must Focus on Longevity, Not Hype
March 25, 2026

Walk into any beauty aisle—or scroll through your feed for five minutes—and it’s clear the industry is obsessed with what’s new. New formulas, new trends, new “rules.” But for many women, especially those who’ve been using makeup for decades, the question isn’t what’s new—it’s what actually works. And increasingly, the answer isn’t coming from the…

Read More
Physician
Fixing the Physician Experience: Why Advocacy Is Healthcare’s Next Frontier
March 25, 2026

Physician burnout has become a defining challenge in healthcare, with research showing that a substantial portion of clinicians—anywhere from roughly a quarter to over half—experience emotional exhaustion, driven more by systemic pressures like administrative burden and reduced autonomy than by individual resilience alone. As healthcare systems face growing staffing shortages and rising patient demand, the…

Read More
career
From Starting Over In A New Country To Reaching The C-Suite: A CFO’s Career Comeback
March 25, 2026

Global mobility is reshaping the modern workforce, with millions of professionals relocating each year in pursuit of opportunity, stability, or growth. Yet behind the headlines of talent migration lies a quieter, more difficult truth: restarting a career from scratch—even after years of success—is far more common than people expect. In fact, many skilled immigrants…

Read More