New Year, New You – Getting your health and fitness brand ready for 2022

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that preparation for busy sales periods is key to maximising success. New year is a classic example of this. With the ‘new year, new you’ trend characterised by self-reflection, consumer purchase habits swerve towards health and fitness. With that in mind, and with the start of 2022 only a few short weeks away, there’s an imminent opportunity for brands to capitalise on this as the clocks tick over into the new year. A 2020 study by YouGov outlined that 27% of survey participants said they would make a new year’s resolution , with 47% wanting to improve their fitness.  

The influence of the new year’s resolution 

Historically, a proportion of consumers begin the new year looking for healthy meal alternatives, fitness opportunities and to set personal targets for the future. New year is the perfect time to maximise visibility of health and fitness brands in-store and on shelves to meet the increased consumer demand. Going into 2021, health and fitness ranked in the top three resolutions, closely followed by losing weight and improving diet. New Year 2022 will be no different, as the notion of getting into shape after Christmas and starting the new year with a renewed sense of purpose is set to drive consumer purchase decisions.  

How the coronavirus pandemic has challenged consumer behaviour and had an impact on the health and fitness industry 

As more employers continue to offer flexible working opportunities, ‘athleisure’ has become a desirable commodity. This is driven by the increasing acceptance of comfortable wear, even within formal contexts. Fitness brands are also adapting to this by creating specific lines to suit office environments, while still offering the level of comfort associated with athleisure.  

With people spending more free time at home, and further driven by the impact of isolations and formal restrictions, exercising from the comfort of personal spaces soared in popularity. The demand for home gyms and personal exercise equipment also rose significantly, while the popularity of personalised online workouts and fitness awareness also increased. In 2020, home gym equipment sales rose by 5813% at the height of lockdown– an article by the Retail Times shows that 53.3% of UK consumers purchased home workout equipment throughout 2020 and continued to do so into 2021.  

In the same period, the UK also saw temporary gym and wellness centres close. With the pandemic, consumers re-discovered the appeal of the outdoors, and interest in nature and outdoor exercise grew. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) reported that 46% of people were spending more time than ever outdoors during the pandemic. Even though the majority of restrictions have now been lifted, the appeal of the outdoors is not subsiding. 

The health awareness trend has led to exciting opportunities and the potential to increase sales. A physical presence and product rollouts within stores in time for the new year will create substantial opportunities for fitness brands to maximise sales.  

The importance of availability, visibility and presence for health and fitness brands 

Effective promotions and tailored campaign rollouts are a great way to engage with consumers and raise awareness of fitness brands. In-store availability is key when it comes to maximising sales and establishing brand loyalty. The new year and demand for fitness products is the perfect time to engage and capture in-store audiences. However, with gaps on shelves, consumers are more likely to choose competitor brands or products. A study by Think With Google outlined that 44% of consumers in 2020 bought products in the best availability. If a consumer cannot find their preferred brand, they are more likely to look for alternatives, or simply leave empty-handed, both of which result in lost sales for your brand.  

Availability in store is key, but it’s also important to ensure great visibility on the shop floor. Maximising visibility and product merchandising, can lead to higher consumer engagement. Seeing the product in-person and on shelf can assist the consumer with purchase decisions. Maximising availability and enforcing planogram compliance as part of the broader awareness and sales strategies will positively impact ROI. Branded POS activation to boost sales is an additional tactic to further increase awareness and visibility of health and fitness brands. The consumer’s  desire to change and the perception of new beginnings creates sales opportunities for health and fitness brands to tap into within physical stores. Ensuring your brand is on shelf, and ready for the new year demand, is the ultimate goal.  

How Logobrand can help health and fitness brands in time for the ‘new year, new you’ resolutions trend 

At Logobrand, we understand what it takes to prepare for the new year. Planning, availability, visibility, retailer and planogram compliance, along with strategically planned promotions are all powerful tools to respond to the consumer demand for health and fitness products in the New Year. Preparing for the health-driven resolutions trend in advance allows health and fitness brands to be one step ahead of the competition. 

With Logobrand by your side, you can relax, knowing you’re getting the best field marketing services available. We adopt a data-led approach, utilising live data insights to see what is selling best and what isn’t, spotting stock issues and ensuring maximised availability. Our expertise in data and insights can also help you identify trends and shopping patterns to inform an effective strategy. Our actions speak louder than words – we work with brands directly to adapt their strategy and smooth in-store execution to meet the new year shopper demands. We can also take care of your POS implementations, ensuring that your POS activations are executed in a timely manner. We’ll give you the advantage against competitor health and fitness brands at the onset of the new year by establishing and amplifying visibility in-store. 

We know about the impact of seasonal demand. With Logobrand’s store and SKU-led support, we can help drive your health and fitness brand’s visibility and compliance, by ensuring stores have optimum stock levels and identifying opportunities to maximise sales. With us by your side, you can feel confident and well supported as you journey into the new year.  

How can our services help health and fitness brands grow in retailers shaped by the ‘new year, new you’ health consumer trend?  

• Identifying stores that need support and pinpointing products that are experiencing availability issues, out of stocks, and therefore lost sales 
• Regaining share of shelf. We’ll ensure the correct number of facings are present to keep your consumers engaged and the shelves fully stocked 

• Effective merchandising 
• Increasing visibility. With additional sites and visual merchandising, your product sales will increase 
• Driving SEL compliance – it’s getting back to basics, but we know shoppers don’t buy products without knowing the cost 
• Fixing those on-shelf availability gaps by deploying an agile field representative  to tackle those retailer compliance or stock replenishment issues 
• Rectifying store and SKU level problems where retailer EPOS data is available 

Let’s welcome the new year together. At Logobrand, our dedicated team of field marketing experts will help you maximise sales in-store and deliver a positive return on your investment. If you’d like to find out how to maximise the sales of your fitness brand in-store, get in touch with a member of our friendly team.