What is the outlook for the gym industry?
Hitting the gym is the new club. In 2021, fitness has become a lifestyle badge of honour. According to a survey by McKinsey, the pandemic has nudged consumers to care more about their health, as well as rely more on exercise to relieve stress [1].
A fitness class in progress, photo by Luis Vidal on Unsplash
Thus, although lockdowns in many parts of the world have caused a dip in revenue for gyms, the industry is bouncing back stronger than ever [2, 3]. Fitness complements such as activewear and gadgets have also seen a sharp rise in demand.
From cult-favourite spin classes to traditional gym facilities, consumers are really spoilt for choice. With such stiff competition in the fitness business, how can gyms make use of a POS system for gym to meet the needs of daily operations?
GymMaster
About GymMaster
As its name suggests, GymMaster is a POS and technology provider made for gyms. With over 180,000 users in more than 70 countries, GymMaster is a formidable player in the fitness industry.
Getting started with GymMaster
Booking a demo online can be done at the click of a button.
GymMaster has four packages available, from “Foundation” to “Enterprise”. Each package is charged monthly, but businesses can pay yearly to get 10% off the subscription price.
GymMaster’s packages
Which gyms should choose GymMaster?
GymMaster is the most suitable for gym owners who want to establish high-tech gyms.
First of all, GymMaster provides solid sales and payment functions on its POS. This is important for selling gym complements such as towels, water bottles, and socks. Customers can even put items on their tab, and pay for everything in one go. Online payments can also be made via established payment providers including Paypal and Stripe.
Second, GymMaster has a comprehensive customer relationship management system. Customers join the system by signing up on an online portal, or even a mobile application (in beta phase of development).
Using SMS and email communications, the system can send automated reminders to customers about expiring packages and payments. It can also automatically encourage them to book another package.
It can even be used to optimise the performance of email and social media campaigns, a must have for gyms today. Thus, GymMaster’s customer relationship management system will facilitate customer retention.
GymMaster’s offerings are not limited to POS functions. It also has technological innovations such as gym door access control and a tailgate detection system.
Retailing at 590 USD, the gym door access control feature enables gym members to open the door using a phone application. It is convenient for customers, and enables gyms to understand visitation patterns by logging visit data. It also reduces reliance on employees and enables gyms to run 24/7. Gyms can even configure different access rights for a variety of membership tiers or groups.
On the other hand, GymMaster’s tailgate detection system costs a hefty 800 USD. Using multiple cameras, it identifies and takes photographic evidence of tailgaters. The security does not come cheap, but may be of great use to gyms which lose revenue because of freeloading tailgaters.
All in all, GymMaster has innovative features which are good for gyms keen on upgrading technology to automate processes.
Armada POS
About Armada POS
Headquarted in Dubai, Armada POS is a POS provider which mainly services the United Arab Emirates.
Getting started with Armada POS
A gym owner can get started with Armada POS easily through their four step process.
Steps to get started with Armada POS
Which gyms should choose Armada POS?
Armada POS has a strong sales system. Sales reporting and analytics are done in real-time, to identify sales patterns and inform business decisions. Sales reporting spans across different gym locations, enabling the owner to manage everything from one central location. The sales system is complemented by a retail accounting system to ensure that sales are made without a hitch.
Armada POS also offers digital signage hardware. Digital signage is usually used in restaurants, but can be repurposed for fitness classes to show information such as time left in a workout, or the next exercise to prepare for. This makes it easier for members to follow timed exercises such as High Intensity Interval Training and Tabata.
A unique feature from Armada POS is its POS rental service. Gyms can choose from short term, month to month, and long-term rental options. There is also the choice of renting software, hardware, or both. This enables gyms to scale up or down easily depending on business needs, and is also useful for gyms which often host pop up classes or events.
If your gym is based in the UAE, Armada POS would be a great choice because of its customer support services. Signing up with Armada POS entitles gyms to one year of free support services, including 24/7 support and employee training. This will be overseen by a dedicated project manager.
Armada POS also has a POS depot to solve hardware problems within 24 hours for a small monthly fee. The team can also help with POS solution design and infrastructure building, including custom solutions such as an order tracking system.
Wellyx Fitness
About Wellyx Fitness
Wellyx Fitness’ software was created to solve problems for their own health club. Conceptualised in 2015 and developed in 2016, Wellyx is a relatively new provider in the POS software industry.
However, Wellyx stands out in its drive for improvement. Since the first version was rolled out in 2016, two more versions have been created. It has also launched beta features such as payroll and gift card management for future versions. It is no wonder that Wellyx has a 98% customer satisfaction rate.
Getting started with Wellyx Fitness
There are many ways to get started with Wellyx Fitness. Gym owners may book a free demo online, start a 14 day free trial, contact sales or even watch an online presentation.
Wellyx Fitness’ pricing plans
There are no additional start-up costs involved. In fact, the Wellyx team will help to migrate member data as well as build templates for your gym, for free.
Which gyms should choose Wellyx Fitness?
Wellyx Fitness is great for sales in any region. Gyms can configure multiple tax options, create password protected discounts, and allocate tips to employees.
To facilitate sales, employees can utilise the quick search function or scan barcodes to look up products in the system. Customers’ names or phone numbers can also be easily pulled up to check their past transactions and preferences.
All sales will be reported on a dashboard using data visualisations for easy extraction of insights. Over 100 customisable reports can be created on Wellyx, more than enough for any gym.
In tandem, Wellyx’s customer relationship management system allows gyms to better engage customers through email, SMS, and push notifications on a mobile application. A white label member engagement portal can also be created. This will be encrypted to allay privacy concerns.
Gym owners can even analyse team productivity by checking employee statistics such as number of sales calls made in a month. Other employee management functions include scheduling, time clock, assigning tasks, and controlling access permissions for different employees. All these functions will make employee management a smooth sailing process.
Staying in shape
Even as gyms help their members to achieve fitness goals, gyms themselves must hit business goals to remain operational.
A yoga class in progress, photo by Dylan Gillis on Unsplash
A fitting POS system for gym can push gyms to reach their goals by automating manual, time-consuming administrative tasks and more. Hustle on and create exceptional customer experiences!
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*All information about GymMaster, Armada POS, and Wellyx Fitness were obtained from their respective websites, accurate as of November 2021.
References
[1] https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/sweating-for-the-fitness-consumer
[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/19/business/fitness-industry-remote.html
[3] https://www.ft.com/content/4ca0fbd4-0f7a-408b-9b77-8e576e2b62be
