Consumers turned to digital platforms for their fitness needs driving remarkable growth in the industry in 2020. According to the research data analyzed and published by Comprar Acciones, worldwide consumer spend on health and fitness apps grew by 49.7% in 2020.
Moreover, based on a Washington Post report, 2.5 billion health and fitness apps were downloaded globally from January to November 2020. During the first half of 2020, downloads in the category shot up by 46% year-over-year (YoY).
European Consumers Spent $544 Million on Health and Fitness Apps in 2020
The shift also sparked an uptrend in demand for fitness wearables. IDC estimated that 400 million wearables were shipped in the year, 60 million more than the 2019 figure. Pushing the uptrend were devices that offer virtual fitness and health coaches.
The growth was particularly remarkable in Europe, where there was a 70.2% upsurge to $544.2 million. Europe accounted for 30.3% of the total global spend on industry apps. The UK was its top market, generating $160.6 million, a 29.5% share of the tally. Germany was second with $89.3 million and France was third with $56.4 million.
The home fitness business also thrived during the year. According to the NPD, revenue from health and fitness equipment rose to $2.3 billion between March and October 2020. That was more than double the revenue in the 2019 period. Stationary bike sales nearly tripled during the period, while treadmill sales soared by 135%.
Peloton, a key industry player, saw its product sales double, from $910 million in 2019 to $1.8 billion in 2020. Its digital subscribers shot up by 382% to 510,000 while paid digital subscribers rose by 210% to 316,800. Connected Fitness (CF) subscribers rose from 563,000 to 1,334 million, a 137% YoY uptick. Peloton’s stock also grew by 434% during the year. For its upcoming Q2 FY21 earnings report, sales are expected to soar to $1.1 billion.
