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The global online fitness market is projected to reach over $120 billion by 2031. As demand for online fitness services grows, consumers expect fitness clubs to provide the same level of digital experience found in industries like travel, retail, and healthcare.
These cross-industry expectations are part of what Coherent Solutions defines as the Human Performance Economy (HPE), an environment where people judge each digital experience against the best interactions they have elsewhere in their lives.
In this article, we’ll break down the new digital foundation, built on reliable data, smart automation, and AI, that fitness and wellness operators need to meet these evolving expectations. Strategically implementing these items can enhance operations and how a brand’s online presence is perceived. We’ll also share how to avoid shiny object tech decisions by starting with clear pain points, owner insight, and success metrics.
Across the industry, conversations about future-proofing fitness companies with smart tech and data continue to highlight the consumer shifts operators see every day. Digital readiness now determines whether a club can compete in the current market. The pressure to provide high-quality digital experiences extends far beyond fitness and reflects the way people navigate their digital lives across various industries.
People navigate fitness, wellness, travel, retail, and personal health through a single set of expectations, shaped by their strongest digital encounters. This pattern defines the HPE.
From Coherent Solutions’ work across sectors, we see these expectations shaping how people interact with and evaluate a fitness club’s digital experience. When those interactions fall short, the entire experience feels out of step with the rest of their digital life. Meeting those expectations requires systems that work together behind the scenes.
For many operators, however, there’s a wide gap between systems, keeping information siloed across marketing, operations, and member engagement. These system gaps also impact the reliability of data. A great digital experience begins with good data, which in turn impacts the functionality of AI and smart automation systems. It’s crucial that organizations invest in each of these to move the needle on client engagement and satisfaction.
Data as the operational core
For fitness operators who engage with clients across clubs, apps, and online channels, clean, consistent data collection and processing are a necessity. When information is complete and standardized across teams, operators can see what members are doing and make data-driven decisions quickly.
We see this in large fitness enterprises, where unifying operational data across locations and digital platforms has enabled faster decisions and more consistent member experiences, as shown in our work supporting a global fitness operator’s network modernization.
Fitness companies often see the benefits of good data hygiene in their retention rates. Data can be used to build behavioral indicators that flag when a member is less engaged, and staff can respond with effective marketing tactics. These interventions reduce cancellation risk and keep members connected.
Data can also be used to improve daily operations in physical club locations. Automated equipment data that reports service needs, such as wear, missing parts, or imbalance, gives teams a chance to fix issues before members notice them. This reduces disruptions and creates a more stable environment.
In both cases, smart data usage frees staff to focus on members, which becomes even more important as automation expands.
Automation that restores the human role
Automation has become a practical way for operators to reclaim time for direct member support online and in the clubs. Routine communication — reminders, confirmations, and updates — can run without staff intervention, allowing teams to focus on personal training, fitness classes, and the front desk.
Operators often see the most immediate value when automation addresses high-volume tasks that need little judgment. Common starting points include booking confirmations, class waitlist updates, membership status notifications, and basic account changes. Automating these workflows cuts down on manual data entry and reduces back-and-forth with members, creating more consistent day-to-day operations.
Effective teams introduce automation gradually by replacing one manual process at a time and assigning clear ownership for each workflow. This approach minimizes the risk of errors and makes it easier to see how changes impact staff workloads and the member experience. Over time, staff attention shifts from system maintenance to focusing on member needs.
Automation clarifies the human role by taking on repetitive tasks, allowing people to focus on business strategy, operations, and personal interaction.
AI that shapes operations and perception
As operators reduce manual work through automation, AI tackles the tasks that require deeper prediction and pattern recognition.
Fitness companies can use AI to forecast equipment needs, prioritize facility issues, and provide routine customer support through chatbots and online service agents. It is also increasingly used in member-facing experiences, including personalized training recommendations, adaptive workout or nutrition guidance, and real-time feedback that helps members adjust form or effort during workouts. These applications reduce operational friction while allowing staff to focus on moments that require judgment, coaching, and human connection.
Additionally, creating a recognizable, well-regarded brand is important in fitness. Online, many search engines and chatbots rely on public information when describing or recommending brands to consumers. Operators can also use AI to help optimize website content, respond quickly to reviews, and improve content across visible sources to shape how a club appears in search and conversational systems.
A good digital reputation can help a club attract new members and keep existing members engaged.
Inside the organization, AI systems trained on policies or onboarding content can help teams onboard and offboard employees with fewer missteps. AI can also be used to process data and generate insights that help leaders guide the company’s overarching business strategy. For many fitness organizations, it’s essential to use AI-driven data insights to track key metrics, such as conversion quality, retention lift, and time saved, creating clear baselines that can be easily compared against future progress.
It should be noted, however, that these systems need regular oversight to maintain accuracy. It’s important for fitness organizations to find reliable technology partners that can help them thoughtfully implement, integrate, and maintain AI systems.
Leadership and discipline in technology choices
Shiny object syndrome (SOS) is the tendency to focus on what’s new and exciting; it is the pitfall of chasing ideas and opportunities that prevent people and organizations from realizing real progress as they create and quickly abandon goals. For fitness organizations, SOS can manifest in leaders buying, implementing, and adopting new tech, machines, or even ways of working because they’re popular, without considering if they’re necessary. SOS can tax resources in an organization and cause confusion with consumers, especially when the new tool or approach doesn’t fit with the company’s brand identity.
Operators often buy tools because competitors have them, not because they address a real problem.
To avoid SOS in building a great digital experience, operators must begin with a defined pain point, effective success metrics, and clear ownership for adoption and daily maintenance.
Successful implementations of data, workflow automation, and AI systems usually start with small pilots. Some operators test multiple vendors with lightweight prototypes before committing, choosing partners based on both capability and collaboration quality.
These early trials reveal system gaps, surface training needs, and clarify whether a partnership can support long-term goals.
Ownership and capacity matter as much as funding. Without creating accountability for data hygiene, staff readiness, and workflow updates, even strong systems can stall. Visible leadership support anchors this work. When executives reinforce expectations and stay close to progress, teams adapt with greater consistency, and technology becomes part of everyday operations rather than an isolated purchase.
Looking ahead
At Coherent Solutions, we’ve seen firsthand that connected ecosystems make modernization easier to sustain than relying on disconnected tools. They match the way people navigate digital experiences across the HPE.
Operators who continue strengthening their digital foundation will be best positioned to meet users’ expectations in the years ahead.
For an example of how organizations are navigating this transition, explore our case study on fitness enterprise modernization.
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