Who churns from fitness centres? Evidence from behavioural and attitudinal segmentation

Abstract

ABSTRACT Research question One major challenge fitness centres face is high non-renewal rates from members. This study examines which members in a fitness centre are most likely to churn, contributing a novel process of segmentation to guide member retention. Research methods We analyse 661 full-service fitness centre members in Australia, presenting a process for segmenting members, and identifying churn risk. Leveraging recent trends of increased behavioural data usage in sport and leisure research contexts, analysis included both self-reported attitudes collected via survey as well as database behavioural attendance collected over 56 weeks. Results and findings Fitness centre members were grouped via k-means clustering, yielding four segments: Dissatisfied Casuals, Deliberate Regulars, Enthusiastic Absentees and Dedicated Reliables. Results supported greater churn likelihood within segments with lower involvement, and lower attendance frequency and consistency. Implications Implications suggest that segmentation processes adopting only an attitudinal approach can be limited in identifying likelihood of churn, by omitting pertinent behavioural variables. Thus, the proposed segmentation framework will assist fitness centre managers to better understand their heterogeneous consumer bases and develop and implement variant marketing approaches for retention.