F45 tops Canstar Blue gym ratings for a second year

Group fitness franchise F45 Training has topped Canstar Blue’s ratings for customer satisfaction among commercial gym groups in Australia for the second successive year.

Heading Australia’s major gym chains in Canstar Blue’s annual survey, F45 rated five stars for atmosphere, equipment and facilities, staff availability and overall satisfaction, topping rivals Fernwood, Goodlife Health Clubs, Snap Fitness 24/7 and Anytime Fitness.

Revealing its findings for the last year, the ratings agency advised “with the fitness industry exploding over recent years (and) gyms and fitness centres seemingly on every corner … with so much competition, gyms have had to diversify their services in order to stand out from the crowd, with some sticking to the traditional Schwarzenegger-era setup, while others stock the latest and greatest pieces of equipment to entice people through the door, and others focus on group training.

“With two-thirds of respondents to our latest survey (66%) stating they have tried more than one gym chain, and 19% indicating that they have multiple gym memberships, it’s clear that choosing a gym isn’t an easy decision to make.

“With factors like price, location, 24-hour access, equipment, as well as staff friendliness and expertise to consider, the gym has become much more than simply a place to ‘pump iron’.”

This year, almost 900 gym members participated in the customer satisfaction survey, Canstar Blue added “for the second year in a row, F45 Training has taken out top spot in our gym ratings (with) its class-based, group fitness model (having) clearly resonated with consumers.

Canstar Blue’s 2019 review of gyms and fitness clubs saw seven major chains rated in the following order for overall customer satisfaction:

1st F45 Training
2nd Snap Fitness
3rd Jetts
4th Anytime Fitness
5th Fitness First
6th Fernwood Fitness
7th Goodlife Health Clubs

Snap Fitness, Jetts and Anytime Fitness received four stars for overall satisfaction, while Fitness First, Fernwood Fitness and Goodlife Health Clubs were left on three stars apiece. Aside from the performance of this year’s overall winner, F45, there were some other noteworthy results, including Jetts being the only chain to get five stars on value for money, plus flexibility and perks.

Images: Recent F45 investor Mark Wahlberg with F45 founder Rob Deutsch.