Over the last couple of years Peloton has been in the news a lot. Most of you must have heard that Peloton bought a company named Precor. The reason behind this recent acquisition is for Peloton to try to build a manufacturing base in the US so that they are able to build and ship more devices (April 1st, 2021).

Now, it sure has been interesting observing where Peloton are heading but if you review their website positioning, it’s pretty apparent that their focus is towards their digital presence.

Ever since Peloton had it’s IPO, there has been a lot of focus on the fitness sector. This was exaggerated even further with the pandemic taking hold all across the world, affecting the fitness sector.

So we have been keeping a close tab on Peloton, for obvious reasons.

Obviously, at turnfitter we are all about empowering fitness professionals. With that being said we are objective about what is going to shape the future of the fitness world as well.

Trying to keep on top of future trends, we continually talk to our clients to see what is shaping the future at the ground level. This means talking to users and partners to see how are they working with their clients to analyze what it is that is exactly motivating their clients, in regards to getting to their fitness goals.

9 out of 10 personal trainers that I have directly spoken with, over the last year do not train any clients who own a Peloton. The 10% of personal trainers who had to contend with at least one of their clients having access to a Peloton device mentioned how engagement with these clients did drop for a short period of time before they returned. The reasoning behind the clients returning that was given to me spelled it out clearly, the clients who were using Peloton noticed that their fitness progress stalled.

This led me to confirm my suspicions: Peloton is a good product but it is not going to replace the personal touch provided by personal trainers and the gyms they run. This is why their website is so closely aligned towards digital delivery.

There are issues with Peloton, which is why we are absolutely sure that Peloton is not going to replace fitness facilities or personal trainers (even as they are helping spread awareness and motivating more people to get fit).

The issues with Peloton:

1) Lack of variety

The problem with Peloton is that it does not mix the fitness routine up. Personal trainers help vary the regime and all good ones ensure there is variety in their clients’ fitness routine, to ensure the body does not get used to the same exercise again and again.

Peloton does not vary the exercise routine.

2) Expense

At $2k for the bike with the monthly subscription model Peloton simply is not an affordable solution for the masses. For some people that is a down payment on a car.

3) Space required

It does not make good furniture. With urban living (where a large proportion of their ideal target market base reside) there is not enough space to put a Peloton. Ever seen living spaces in New York???

4) Accountability

We remain on track when we are motivated to get fit. But with Peloton, there is no accountability. What is going to stop someone from jumping off the bike once the doorbell rings?

5) Wear and tear

Just like any hardware machine, Peloton in October 2020 recalled 20,000 devices as there were issues with the pedals. Now, a lot of Peloton owners are having issues with the actual hardware, which does not mean the device is a low quality device, even BMW’s get in accidents but the problem is that if a Peloton owner faces issues with their device they will have to wait weeks for their device to be exchanged.  

These are just a few item areas I could think of, the list can go on.

Everybody knows at least one person with exercise equipment that is sitting in their basement. Our analysis shows that Peloton devices (when looing at large datasets) are also going to be amongst the devices that are going to be stored away in the corner of these basement spaces.

 

 

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