Fitness apps: A necessity for gyms to deal with COVID-19

Fitness apps to the rescue

Since its inception, fitness apps have managed to itch the scratch of fitness enthusiasts worldwide.

Statista claims that the global fitness app users number stands currently at 881.6 million, which is approximately 11% of the world’s population.

Their popularity can be attributed to features like customizable workout plans, daily workout reminders and video tutorials.

Along with these, these apps also give the user freedom to work out from the comfort of their homes, and even offices.

This is especially beneficial now, when the world is reeling from the aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With fitness apps, people restricted to their homes can thus keep up with their workout routine.

What is COVID-19?

In case you aren’t yet familiar with COVID-19, you must be living under a rock.

COVID-19 is a new strain of the coronavirus family discovered in 2019 that is highly communicable.

Its symptoms include high temperatures, fatigue and continuous coughing.

The disease mainly spreads from person-to-person through close contact or from the respiratory droplets produced when the infected person coughs or sneezes.

Therefore, health professionals recommend that you should isolate yourself and stay at home if you show the above symptoms.

However, the disease is thankfully not as deadly as its predecessors – the SARS and MERS coronaviruses.

Out of the 173,085 cases worldwide, 77,783 have already recovered from the disease.

This is undoubtedly the silver lining to the current grim situation.

How coronavirus can spread in the gym?

As a cure for COVID-19 is not out yet, efforts are being made to contain the spread of the virus.

Governments across the world have already shut down public places like theatres, stadiums and malls.

Officials are even considering postponing big sporting events like the UEFA Euro 2020 and the Tokyo Olympics as a precautionary measure.

This leads to the question – is it risky for you to visit your gym now?

The answer is a big, resounding ‘yes’.

While there is no evidence if coronavirus can spread through sweat as of now, it doesn’t mean that you are safe from the virus at your gym.

After all, it takes just one infected person to put the lives of everyone else around him at risk.

The humid environment of gyms provides the perfect place for the virus to spread.

Moreover, the virus can live up to 2-3 days on surfaces.

Thus, if an infected person coughs or sneezes and then touches the weights or the benches, anyone touching them afterwards will be exposed to the virus.

Thus, even though the current situation is difficult for both gym owners and gym goers alike, the best thing to do would be to stay at home.

However, would it not be nice if fitness enthusiasts could get the gym experience while staying at home?

How can fitness apps help?

For gym owners, the recent coronavirus outbreak is a cause for worry.

Gyms can expect to see a dip in activity as well as membership subscriptions in the coming days because of the virus outbreak.

Fortunately, fitness apps can help mitigate the loss to gyms while bringing the gym to people’s homes.

Here’s how fitness apps can help in the fight against COVID-19.

1. Online transaction

It is well known that physical currencies like cashes, coins and cards can harbor germs and viruses for long periods of time.

As such, handling cash during this pandemic is an open invitation to trouble.

With in-app contactless payment methods, both you and your customers can thus minimize the risk of coming into contact with the virus.

2. Video classes

For the fitness enthusiasts stuck at home, fitness apps can be a huge boon.

By having your gym trainers provide video instructions of exercises customers can easily perform at their homes,

The customers can also watch these videos at their own convenience and not miss out on staying fit.

3. Dietary suggestions to boost immunity and health

There are shady and misleading information being shared by people regarding foods that can prevent coronavirus.

Even though there is no specific food that can prevent it, it is important that your body stays healthy and in peak condition.

Eating healthy can supply the body with the necessary nutrients and vitamins, which in turn can boost immunity.

You can look out for the welfare of your customers by providing them with personalized meal plans and health tips from through blogs and articles from credible sources in your fitness app.

4. Reminders to stay hydrated

It is important that your customers don’t forget to replenish the water lost as sweat by exercising.

Which is why you can remind your customers to hydrate themselves regularly and stay healthy.

Through push notifications, you can remind your customers to drink an adequate amount of water

daily.

Moreover, healthy hydration levels can help maintain the mucous membrane of the nose and decrease irritation while coughing or sneezing.

But how will a fitness app help you earn money?

‘If you’re good at something, never do it for free’ – Joker, The Dark Knight, 2008

Anyone running a business will tell you that they absolutely hate making losses.

And with gyms closed everywhere and people restricted to their homes, your business must also be suffering as a result.

Believe it or not, this is the perfect time to invest in a fitness app.

But how can you earn from your fitness app?

The answer is simple – you can monetize your app to bring in steady profits.

Here we have listed some of the most common app monetization methods, along with their pros and cons.

1. Freemium

The user can download the basic version of the app for free. However, the user can only access limited features while using the basic version. The user can unlock the premium version by paying money. This can either be a recurring fee like a subscription package or a one time payment for lifetime premium membership.

Pros – Most effective way of monetizing apps, Makes more money than paid apps

Cons – More time to build profits

2. In-app purchases

This is not a standalone monetization model but can be combined with both paid and free apps to generate more revenue. In-app purchases can be optional, provide the users with additional app features or can even be subscriptions. Interestingly, the majority of the mobile apps are free apps with in-app purchases.

Pros – Can generate more revenue

Cons – Not a guaranteed money maker, Poor implementation can lead to bad reviews, angry users and customer service nightmares.

3. Paid app

If you are offering a really compelling content and have identified a target audience, you can go with the paid app approach. The user pays a specific amount upfront to unlock all the features of the app. This model can be a gamble unless you have a dedicated audience who are willing to pay the necessary amount.

Pros – One Time fee payment, higher average revenue per download.

Cons – Potential customers may get turned off from downloading the app if the initial cost is too high. Casual users are also unlikely to purchase the app as they can’t preview or try out the app without paying, limiting the reach of your app.

4. Advertisements

The advertisement model is an effective monetization strategy and is generally. You get paid by companies to serve their advertisements within your app. This also allows you to keep the app free for use, with revenue being generated when the users watch or click on the ads. Moreover, you get the opportunity to partner with health and show advertisements that are relevant to the user.

Pros – Users are willing to deal with ads in exchange for accessing your content or service free of cost.

Cons – Too many ads can make your customers irritated.

5. Subscriptions

The subscription method is quickly becoming the new revenue model favourite. The user can access your service or content by paying a weekly, monthly or yearly subscription fee. Usually, such apps offer great discounts to the user when they subscribe for longer periods of time.

Pros – Steady stream of income, Greater revenue

Cons – Works best for apps that continually offer fresh content

Conclusion

Whether you’re infected or not, every one of us needs to take proper precautions in the fight against coronavirus.

Staying fit and healthy right now is crucial, and a fitness app can be beneficial for your gym now and in future too.

If you are in the lookout for an app development team to build your app, then look no further.

Idea Usher is a pioneering web-app development company with years of experience in building robust, scalable, and innovative technology solutions.

Our tech-enthusiastic programmers, designers and testers have previously worked on developing fitness apps.

You can read our blogs to know more about the fitness app development process.

And in case you have any questions,  we encourage you to get in touch with us.