Building communities and engaging customers, in-store and online, beyond the shopping experience are age old traditions in the business of retail and ecommerce. Today athletic and fitness brands are taking this concept to a new level by offering in-store workouts paired with fun and exciting wellness activations, products and giveaways.
Immersed in the brand culture, more and more consumers are coming out to workout with their favorite brands, in their stores and these retailers are seeing the benefits. Do people shop more after an amazing workout? Do they stick around and browse the merchandise while sampling a new juice or trying a preferred beauty product? The answer is YES. In fact, these events have been so successful that leading apparel retailers are opening dedicated workout spaces in their stores including Athleta, Bandier, Lululemon, and SweatyBetty.
Over the past few years we have seen the proliferation of in-store workouts with the aforementioned retailers as a formula for building community within a neighborhood while inspiring fitness goers to come in to the store and shop, tapping popular instructors who regularly teach at Barry's Boot Camp, Fhitting Room, SLT, Tone House, Yoga Shanti or instructors with their own pop- up concept like Elements Fitness Studio, HIIT IT with Daphne Yang, KGBody and CheerFIt, all for the good of promoting a healthy lifestyle, supporting the community and economic development.
These in-store workouts drive shopping, build brand culture and community. Creating the right mix for an in-store activation can go a long way. From generating a PR buzz amongst media and consumers and building brand excitement to driving conversations across social media and increasing consumer acquisition and engagement, brands can access multiple touchpoints across the marketing landscape.
From Fortune 500 to Start-Up companies, there is tremendous value for everyone. These events are an excellent way for smaller brands to reach new customers and for larger corporate brands to introduce innovative new products for discovery. Additionally, this is a terrific opportunity for studio's and instructors to gain exposure and provide a forum for instructors without a brick and mortar set up to teach and grow their following/community
In-store fitness and wellness events engage the athleisure customers beyond their shopping experience, catering to their overall wellness lifestyle needs. Retailers in essence, are building community through real time events, generating a buzz and PR, garnering street credibility and activating customers in IRL.
####