The past year has been an incredibly encouraging one for the fitness and beauty industries. Since January 2021, fitness reservations have grown by 329 percent and spa and beauty reservations are up by 428 percent. ClassPass members are now booking at 10 percent higher than pre-pandemic times.
Could it be that people officially exited their homes and returned to the world? With nine of the most booked reservations being for in-person classes and appointments by June 2021, we think so. 💪🏻
Beauty and fitness trends
Based on the reservations people booked or didn’t book this year, we took a look at what’s back, what’s new and what we’ve left behind in 2021. This year’s trend report focuses on emerging themes as we return to studios, salons, spas and offices in 2022.
2021 fitness trends, according to ClassPass users
The five most popular workouts of 2021 are strength training, yoga, spin class, Pilates and barre class.
The other top booked fitness classes and workouts are boxing, general gym time, running classes, livestream yoga and dance class.
For the first time ever, dance class broke the top 10 most popular fitness classes booked. After a year spent on Zoom calls, we’re clearly ready to get our bodies moving and find positive ways of expressing ourselves.
The most popular day to work out in 2021 was Tuesday, with Sunday being the most common rest day. We’re officially getting back to our pre-pandemic routines of slightly more social weekends and hitting fitness goals Monday through Friday.
The most popular time to workout varied based on which days people worked in offices. On commuting days, the most popular time to workout is 5:30 pm, with 57 percent of people being likely to stop by fitness studios on the way home from the office.
Lunchtime workouts — which soared in popularity in 2020 — remain popular on the days we work from home. Nearly 15 percent of people who WFH are likely to use lunch for their workout, compared to only four percent of professionals opting for a lunchtime workout on the days we’re in-office.
The most popular salon and spa appointments in 2021
The five most popular salon and spa appointments in 2021 are nail care, massage, facials, sauna sessions and haircuts.
Nail care appointments, like manicures and pedicures, are the most likely repeat reservations. And for good reason — who doesn’t love a fresh set every month? 💅 Nail appointments are booked most often on Fridays, usually after 11 a.m.
While spa and salon appointments became more popular with ClassPass users in 2021, appointment usage surged in the last 90 days. 35 percent of ClassPassers have booked a beauty or spa appointment in the fall months, which could be a result of holiday season prep and getting together with friends and family again. Additionally, now that weekend events are more regular, ClassPassers are most likely to book beauty appointments on Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays.
We took self care to new levels this year, with sports recovery emerging as a popular appointment. 💆♀️ Sports recovery includes experiences like recovery boots, light therapy and chiropractic services. Other popular bookings are salt caves, sound therapy, hyperbaric chambers and anti-gravity treadmills.
Fitness trends and predictions for 2022
After 2020 upended the fitness and wellness industry, 2021 showed great signs of recovery. But what can we expect from 2022? The ClassPass team predicts that in-person bookings will continue to grow as we enter the new year.
Commuting cardio is back
According to a new ClassPass survey, 50 percent of professionals are working from an office at least once a week. For those that aren’t back in office yet, data shows that one in four people plan to return to offices full-time in 2022. Our workout routines are shifting as a result, with 64 percent of professionals now stopping by fitness studios during their office commutes again.
For commuters, the most popular time to workout is after you wrap up at the office with more than 50 percent of office workers preferring an evening workout over a morning workout.
With more and more people returning to the office in some form — whether full time or in a hybrid setting — we expect the after and before work time spots to become even more popular in 2022.
Hybrid work(outs) are fueling discovery
Over 70% of professionals are now dropping by fitness studios on the days they work from home.
This news is great for gyms and studios trying to attract new customers: people are twice as likely to sample a new studio on the days they work from home. After all, testing a new class is the perfect change of scenery after working in a living room all day.
Digital fitness also remains popular, mostly on the days that people work from hotels or living rooms. People are twice as likely to workout using digital options such as on-demand or livestream classes on the days they work from home.
As global travel continues to reopen, we expect that more and more people will use ClassPass to explore new fitness and wellness opportunities in their destinations. Over 30 percent of those surveyed said that they plan to stay fully remote, and 56 percent of people using remote work as an opportunity to travel are visiting gyms and studios in the places where they temporarily relocate.
Our moods determine our movement
According to the ClassPass survey, the type of workout someone books depends on if they’re stressed out, feeling neutral or feeling calm and happy.
On a stressful day, 60 percent of people prefer a high-energy workout such as boxing or HIIT, while 40 percent of people prefer calming and restorative exercise such as yoga.
Here’s some of the top classes for every mood.
On a stressful day, you may enjoy some of these high-energy options:
- Bootcamp
- HIIT
- Indoor Cycling
- Circuit Training
- Power Yoga
- Weightlifting
- Kickboxing
Looking for something calming and restorative? Here’s what climbing the charts:
- Reformer Pilates
- Hot Yoga
- Yin Yoga
- Mat Pilates
- Restorative Yoga
- Hatha Yoga
- Ballet
Returning to the studio is better with friends
Did you know that heading to class with a friend can make you more accountable? People are 45 percent more likely to continue with a new workout routine if they take a class with a friend during their first month on ClassPass. Those who regularly work out with friends are more likely to make a routine and stick with it: ClassPassers who work out with friends are 63 percent more likely to keep a routine for 12 months or longer.
It makes sense that meeting up with friends to work out helps with our own accountability: two-thirds of people say in-studio classes make it easier to keep up a routine.
We are dancing into the New Year
For the first time in ClassPass history, dance is ranked as one of the top 10 most booked activities. Dance is the perfect pick-me-up for the mid-week slump, with the most commonly booked time being 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
Here’s the top dance styles by reservation volume — which class will you groove to in 2022?
- Cardio Dance
- Pole Dance
- Hip Hop
- Zumba
- Ballet
- Latin
- Salsa
- Jazz
- Contemporary
- Modern
- Bollywood
- Ballroom
- Swing
- Tap
Sacramento, Honolulu, Orlando and Portland are leading this trend, with the five most popular dance styles being cardio dance, pole dance, hip hop, zumba and ballet.
TikTok takes over fitness
From viral treadmill workouts to nostalgic hula-hooping, TikTok isn’t only just influencing the things we buy, but also the way we like to workout. After TikTok made the treadmill “12-3-30” workout go viral this year, Gym Time climbed to the seventh most booked appointment on ClassPass.
And when it comes to beauty and wellness — Jade Rollers and Gua Sha took the TikTok world by storm in 2021. After this, facials became the third most booked self care appointment.
Each city has it’s own wellness personality
From alarm clock snoozers to two-a-day workout fanatics, each city has its own culture and exercise norms. We took at look at the current leaders in everything from booking a glow up to inviting a friend along for class. Here’s how our behavior shifts from city to city and what you can expect as you travel in 2022:
For more fun trends and predictions, check out the following predictions: