Boutique Fitness Retail: Are You Getting the Most Out of It?

 

The boutique fitness industry is about originality and your studio’s boutique fitness retail should reflect that. Boutique studio’s offer the ultimate luxury workout experience: On-demand performance metrics, premium beverages with that ‘secret sauce’ recipe, and chic lounge areas for the perfect Instagram-able moment—just to prove you did it.

But boutique fitness is about more than just prestige meets hybrid workouts in under an hour. Your boutique studio sells immersive experiences that build community; and what/how you offer retail products should act as an extension of that.

Client acquisition and retention are two of the biggest hurdles for boutique fitness studios. Because of this it is critical to use every opportunity in your studio to creatively engage your clients in a uniquely branded experience. Your various branded merchandise, products, and add-on services all serve as the medium to greater brand awareness, engagement, and loyalty from your customers.

 

Here Are Some Obvious (And Some Not So Obvious) Ways to Increase Client Engagement Through Digital and In-Studio Retail Sales

A small caveat: When talking about boutique fitness studio retail; it is not just what you sell but how you sell it. Strategic product placement is vital to maintaining your aesthetic and optimizing client engagement. This is a broader topic worthy of its own blog. So for now you can check out this great article on retail feng shui.

 

1. Apparel, Please!

Apparel remains the most common fitness retail item for boutique studios. Selling apparel on your website and in your boutique fitness studio are easy ways to give your clients an opportunity to show their pride. They also typically offer high profit margins and can serve to give you a nice bump in revenue.
Apparel could include items like: printed leggings; crop tops or sports bras; bike shorts; mesh sweaters; bomber jackets; and mantra or catch-phrase covered sweatshirts. You may want to brand your apparel by using your own logo, designs, and mantras specific to your brand and modality.

Whatever you decide to offer as merch, we suggest you have integrated online retail offerings. This means the ability to seamlessly purchase online or in the studio, giving your customers the opportunity to plan ahead for an in-studio pick up. This way your customers can finally cop the new pair of leggings they have been eyeing, or grab one of those impulse-buy items while drinking their post-HIIT coconut water or reading their post-workout metrics.

 

2. Fitness Products

Modality-specific fitness products make great up-sells. This includes products like yoga mats, boxing gloves/tape, cycling shoes, socks, sweat towels, hair ties, or water bottles. These products are easy impulse buys for times where your clients forget a class essential, you’ve totally got their back. Also, offering your favorite high quality products, which increase performance and comfort make for an easy sale to your most dedicated clients looking to get an edge.

 

3. Consumables

Smoothies, bullet-proof coffee, tea, crystals, herbal remedies, natural beauty essentials, and more. These thoughtful touches add immensely to the boutique fitness retail experience. They radiate your brand’s unique energy to the world. 

Back in 2014, zingfit helped to innovate the software and frictionless e-commerce solutions that allow your customers to pre-order a smoothie while booking their class online. This epic little add-on has become a full-blown trend in boutique fitness retail. From a customer perspective, there is nothing better than having a protein-packed green smoothie, cold and ready to go, the minute they step out of class. If you have a cafe in your studio, having a seamless digital experience that allows your customers to place pre-orders does wonders to increase cafe purchases.

 

Biggest Takeaway: Seamless Omni-Channel Commerce

From classic merch up-sells to innovative digital and in-studio offerings, we’re passionate about making boutique fitness retail easy. Your studio can increase engagement, retention and fuel your passionate tribe by enabling seamless transactions at every customer touchpoint. Provide your customers with the opportunity to resonate with your brand even more by creating an experience for your customers to pre-order a smoothie, rent gear, or buy merch for their next workout. 

If you go the extra mile with integration and originality, your customers will go the extra mile for you. To learn more about how zingfit is custom-tailored to power your seamless e-commerce and in-studio fitness retail check out our commerce and retail solutions and Book A Demo today.