Make it Easy to Leave, and More People Will Stay

For years, the fitness industry has relied on friction to retain members.

Long notice periods. Hidden clauses. Phone-only cancellations.

It worked… on paper.

But that model is now under pressure. Regulation is tightening around “subscription traps,” customer expectations are shifting, and the tolerance for opaque cancellation processes is disappearing fast.

We asked recently: what’s the last subscription you tried to cancel?
The responses weren’t about price or value; they were about frustration.

That’s the real issue.

The problem isn’t that people leave.
It’s how they feel when they do.

The old model: friction as retention

There’s a long-standing industry assumption that if you make cancellation harder, fewer people will cancel.

This is technically true... but commercially short-sighted.

Friction doesn’t create loyalty.
It creates resentment… and that shows up somewhere else:

• Negative word of mouth
• Lower trust at point of sale
• Reduced likelihood of rejoining
• Brand damage that compounds over time

People don’t forget bad exits.
And in fitness, where rejoining is common, that matters more than most sectors. 

Your Retention Problem Isn’t Pricing. It’s Silence.

Recently, an article in The Guardian explored something simple but powerful: we’re losing the art of talking to strangers.

• Banks are digital
• Supermarkets are self-checkout
• Food ordering is app-based
• Even everyday services that once required conversation are now screen-led.

We’ve removed friction from modern life, and in doing so, we’ve removed conversation.

And that matters.

Because for many people, the leisure centre, health club or gym is now one of the last remaining places where real, human interaction still happens.

Photo by Mikhail Nilov on pexels

Why You Should Stop Trying to Upgrade Every PAYG Member

Pay-as-you-go members don’t always need upgrading. 

But they do need nurturing. 

And leavers can always visit again on PAYG.

Across the public and private sectors, we’re hearing the same story this autumn; strong membership sales and steady PAYG numbers. That’s good news, but it raises a question; are we nurturing PAYG visitors, or simply counting them?

While this might sound like a public leisure issue, it applies to many models, from low-cost gyms to boutique studios. If you sell day passes, 7-day trials, or 'bring a friend' offers, then PAYG customers are part of your ecosystem too.

For clarity, let’s call PAYG visitors casual members, and use members for those on monthly or annual payments.

Balancing Retention Efforts and Resources: Making It Work with a Smaller Team

Retention has always been more cost-effective than acquisition, but in today’s climate, it's no longer just a smart strategy, it’s a financial necessity.

With rising operational costs, including increases in employer National Insurance (NI) contributions, many clubs and gyms are facing the hard reality of needing to do more with less. Staffing budgets are tighter. Teams are stretched. Yet the pressure to deliver results, including higher member retention, is greater than ever.

So how can your club maintain or even improve member retention without adding headcount or burning out your existing team? The answer lies in working smarter, not just harder. Here’s how...

First-Month Visits Predict Member Retention – Are You Paying Attention?

As we near the end of ‘the golden quarter’ (the period from January to March when gyms typically see a surge in new memberships), with many clubs reporting good sales at the start of 2025, focus must turn to member retention, if it hasn’t already. The real challenge now is ensuring your new members (and those who returned with new health and fitness goals) establish a consistent routine and remain engaged.

One of the most significant predictors of long-term retention is a member’s first month activity. Do they engage in a range of activities in your club, or more simply how many first month visits do they make?

It’s incredible to think that over 10% of joiners never make a visit at some low-cost fitness clubs. And almost another 10% make only one visit, ever. Budget gyms have done some great things in bringing fitness to millions of new members, but while online joining and optional inductions help sales, these practices hurt retention.

Retention Starts with Culture: The Power of Member Interactions

After a positive start to 2025 for many clubs, February is about maintaining membership sales momentum, but more importantly, focusing on retaining all your new members (and the existing ones) as long as possible.

Filling a leaky bucket doesn’t make sense—stop losing members by focusing on retention, not just sales.

Retention isn’t about complicated strategies—it’s about talking to people, consistently and meaningfully.

Boost Member Retention: The Power of Group Exercise for New Joiners

Looking for new ways of getting your new members to stick around longer? Group exercise could be the key.  

This article explores why group fitness classes are a game changer for retention and offers practical strategies to engage with more of your new members.

Onboarding focus

While onboarding often focuses on individual inductions, integrating group exercise into the process can significantly boost engagement and retention.

It may not be easy – many popular classes are full, and the timetable can be a bone of contention with members trying to book, so staff might avoid exacerbating the issues. But you have to work on the harder stuff to get greater success.

Class members stay longer; an average of 2 extra months

But most operators know that class members stay longer. Our research shows that booking a class is as effective as, or more effective than an induction at increasing engagement. 

Members who attend at least one class in their first month make 1-2 more first month visits (FMVs) than those who don’t attend any classes, and they will stay around 2 months longer on average. 

Why People, Not Technology, Are the Heart of the Fitness Industry

At its core, the fitness industry is, and always will be, a people-driven business. Staff join, develop, and stick around to build relationships, with members and with their colleagues. The personal connections are stronger than most other industries, because of the people.

Choice, Loyalty, and the once-a-month visitor

Some positive fitness industry numbers announced this week in the Leisure DB State of the UK Fitness Industry Report. 

The Headlines... 15.9% penetration, over 7,000 gyms, and 10.7 million members. 

There was lots of positive talk of health and pivots, yet some of the rhetoric around the report was still stuck in the past, particularly with respect to engagement and retention, and AI. We’ll cover the former in this article, leaving the latter to the experts.

People have more choice than ever when it comes to improving their health and fitness, which is both a blessing and a curse. As more clubs open, they compete with each other for the same members, via more channels, creating more churn as members chop and change. 

The Paradox of Choice with Retention Initatives

One of the problems that clubs face (and to be honest, that we retention consultants sometimes create) is that there are so many retention actions and areas to look at, it can be challenging to know where to start, or where to best focus your efforts.

This choice overload becomes harder still when you’re also looking at sales targets or dealing with day-to-day operational issues. Some lucky organisations have a retention manager, but for many it’s only part of their role, or the responsibility is split across several people. So, it’s no wonder that retention rarely comes to the top of the to-do-list. 

Putting it very simply, the key to good retention is talking to people. 

However, the secret to great retention is talking to the right people, in the right way, at the right time. 

Are Dormant Customers Healthier? (for business)

On health club membership retention, the age-old debate endures on the value of dormant members - those who have memberships but rarely use them. Are they a burden or an opportunity? In this article, we explore the concept of dormant members, highlighting the potential benefits for both gym and member. We'll discuss the art of re-engagement, optimal timing, and strategies to transform these sleepers back into active members.
Discover why it's not only ethical but also a smart business move to prioritize these members, reshaping the fitness industry into a healthier, more sustainable business.

There’s been some discussion in health club news recently about how ‘sleeper members’ of gyms and health clubs still get ‘real benefits’ of being a member despite not visiting. Some feel it will motivate them in future or enjoy the fact that they can [could] go when they want to, while others 'feel good' about having a membership they don’t use.

Time to tap into your ex-member data to boost September Sales

August is a great time to try to re-engage with your ex-members. We know that September is the second peak joining month (after January), so now’s the time to put your club in the front of people’s minds with a compelling ex-member campaign.

This is tip number 10 in a series to celebrate GGFit’s 15 years in business. Stay tuned for more, or read the series here.

We’ve been talking to lots of clubs about ex-member campaigns lately. Many businesses haven’t done much with ex-member data since re-opening post-pandemic. There are almost certainly some big improvements that you’ve made since then, or since those members left, so tell them what’s changed.

The ex-member database is a vastly under-utilized resource at many clubs. We find that most ex-members (over 50%) are not currently exercising, and they all know your club, so asking them to re-join will yield results, and ROI is clear compared to trying to recruit new members.

Absentees are back!

Dormant memberships were mostly wiped out in the COVID Pandemic. But old habits die hard, and the member absentee problem is back to normal. How do we affect this new normal, in new ways?

This is tip number 8 in a series to celebrate GGFit’s 15 years in business. Stay tuned for more

What is an absent member?

Cut-off times vary from business to business, but the typically accepted benchmark is that if a gym member hasn’t visited for the last 30 days, then they’re an absentee. Setting a cut-off time is important so that you can set KPIs, then measure and try to improve your active member percentage.

What do Communities mean to your members?

There’s lots of talk about building communities around your club, but what are the best ways to do this, and how can it help with member retention?

This is tip number 7 in a series to celebrate GGFit’s 15 years in business. Stay tuned for more...

What is a Community?

The difference in definition between a club and a community is that a club is a group of people who come together for a common purpose, whereas a community is a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.

So, a club is not necessarily the building or venue

What Happens Next? 2 tactics to reinforce your onboarding journey.

Use one or both of these strategies to take all your new members to the next level

January was a good month, and if you've followed the first 3 tips in our series of 15, you’ve Sold Retention, Onboarded Everyone, and Promised Progression. All your new members are super-engaged, building up their health habits, and feeling great about being a member of your club. 

What Happens Next?

[my favourite round on Question of Sport, read in Sue Barker's voice, or for older readers, David Coleman or David Vine]

While the first month, or first 7-10 visits are most important for your new members, you can boost their loyalty and enthusiasm further with a couple more steps. So don’t take your eyes off your new recruits this month, but do take your graduates from last month and try one or both of these tactics.

These are tips 4 and 5 in a series to celebrate GGFit’s 15 years in business.

Using Digital & Tech to Augment Reduced Staffing Levels

Staffing is one of the big issues in the fitness industry. It has always been difficult to recruit and retain staff, but it has become harder post-pandemic. 

We’ve discussed this in previous articles, but lately, there is more focus and debate on operating with reduced staff, or even no-staff gyms. 

The best member retention rates are created through staff interaction, but if you’re having to work with a smaller team, there are still ways to maintain good member retention.

Staff leaving

The furlough scheme in the UK helped keep some staff during lockdowns, but many top fitness instructors and PTs took the opportunity to set up their own businesses, sometimes taking members with them. Some realised that they could make more money with less effort by delivering parcels or fast food. Others re-trained for careers outside fitness. 

Don't Let Leavers leave without a chase

Leavers are outnumbering joiners at many clubs this autumn. Clearly the rising cost of living and economic uncertainty is having an effect, but you need to find out more about why your members are leaving. There are two parts to this article, the first talks about the reasons to contact leavers, and then a real-life anecdote about cancelling a corporate gym membership.

Attrition on the rise

Lots of clubs have seen reasonable membership sales in September 2022, traditionally the second-best sales month of the year. Few had record sales numbers though, and membership attrition is on the rise across the whole industry.

One step forwards, two steps back - Retention ideas for Autumn 2022

For the last few years, many clubs have been running to standstill. As retention consultants, we often get called in to help shift this balance, reducing attrition to enable clubs to really grow their membership.

One-in, one-out

It’s been an incredibly tough few years for the fitness industry, and while there have been pockets of positivity as clubs have re-opened following COVID-19 lockdowns, operators and owners are still talking about new member numbers matching leavers each month. Members and prospects have more concerns, more alternatives, less time, and less money. And as clubs focus more on sales, the retention battle gets harder to fight, let alone win.

Unfortunately, it’s about to get tougher.

WFH, Health, and Health Clubs

This article talks about how health clubs can help improve corporate wellbeing, without selling classic gym memberships.

The effects of the COVID pandemic will be felt for many years after the last positive test result. One of the big business and cultural shifts has been the fast-track evolution of working from home (WFH). While many have been doing this for years, not everyone is benefitting. There are some serious repercussions on health, both physical and mental, as described by this report in HR Magazine, which claims remote working is “as dangerous as smoking”

Clubs losing members who are WFH 

Health clubs and gyms have been hit hard by the changes in working practices, with fewer people in towns and cities for a 5-day working week. On the flip side, some independent clubs have benefitted slightly from people wanting to train closer to home, twinned with the general trend of supporting local, smaller businesses. But the big city gyms are feeling it the hardest at the moment.

WHY IS ATTRITION RISING?

The fitness industry needs a retention reality check now more than ever. For each club or chain that claims sales are up, and recovery strong, there are several more who are very aware that their membership attrition is rising.
This seems to be more prominent in the public sector, but private, independent, and budget gyms are all feeling the effect, where they are measuring it. Whether from analysis or conversations, clubs that know their numbers recognise the issue.

A big part of the problem is the industry’s blind optimism and eternal focus on sales and new members, rather than engagement, length of stay and customer value.

Optimism is good, and the fact that many members have returned to your club after the enforced closure is great news (although these are not new member sales). Genuine new members are signing up, but you must take a close look at how these new and returning members are getting on before you start signing up more. The more you fill a leaky bucket, the more it leaks!

There are countless explanations as to why more members are leaving at the moment, and it will vary from club to club. But here are the top three reasons we’re seeing from member and client experience and feedback.