GymNation: Leading the Digital Maturity Journey with PerfectGym

This case study highlights the key digital practices GymNation employs, illustrating a roadmap for other fitness enterprises looking to follow their path to digital maturity.

What is ‘Digital Futures’? 

The ukactive’s Digital Futures is an initiative launched to help fitness and leisure organizations assess and improve their digital capabilities. The 2024 edition, run in partnership with the Digital Futures Advisory Group, invited fitness and recreation facility operators, governing bodies and active partnerships to complete a detailed benchmarking survey. Questions covered several key areas:

• Organizational Model: Evaluating the structure, culture, infrastructure and strategic plans essential for successful digital transformation.
• Performance & Impact: Assessing how digital initiatives contribute to KPIs like participation, revenue and cost-effectiveness.
• Data & Insights: Emphasizing data collection and utilization to enhance consumer experiences, business intelligence, and growth.
• Digital Experiences: Measuring the engagement and evolution of digital interfaces to meet changing consumer needs.
• Accessibility & Inclusion: Ensuring digital experiences cater to diverse needs, fostering user satisfaction and loyalty.

Participants also gain insights into how digital services can improve customer experience, promote equality, diversity and inclusion, and how artificial intelligence (AI) can support their growth.

Measuring Digital Progress

Digital maturity is assessed across five stages to measure growth and guide interventions:

• Digitally Aware (0-19): The organization is beginning its digital journey but needs to focus on people, processes, and infrastructure to meet rising digital demands.
• Digital Foundations (20-39): Some digital elements are in place, but refining the strategy is crucial to align with industry peers.
• Digital Experimenter (40-59): Progress is evident, and further investment will boost business performance and outpace competitors.
• Digitally Established (60-79): The organization operates a successful digital model but has opportunities for greater automation and innovation.
• Digital Leader (80+): Leading the industry in digital maturity, the organization sets benchmarks and must continue evolving to stay ahead. This is where GymNation is.

 

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The Digital Maturity Challenge: GymNation's 93/100 Success Story

Founded in the UAE in 2017, GymNation has quickly become the leading fitness chain in the region, now expanding across Saudi Arabia. With over 20 locations and 110,000+ members, GymNation offers state-of-the-art free weights, machines, and cardio equipment, alongside 400+ complimentary fitness classes—all available 24/7 at every location.

GymNation's mission is to become The People's Gym with an ambition to make fitness more accessible, affordable, and less intimidating, promoting a healthy, active lifestyle for everyone. 

From the beginning, GymNation’s leadership recognized that adopting a tech-focused strategy would be pivotal to their growth. By implementing PerfectGym’s management software, they ensured seamless, scalable operations across multiple locations, setting the stage for their remarkable digital journey. Ant Martland, Co-Founder of GymNation, reflects on this decision: 

“We went through an extensive due diligence process. We probably spoke to every provider of gym management software in the world, and we just felt that PerfectGym was the best solution to scale with us.”

As it turned out, he was absolutely right.

Key Success Factors in Becoming Digital Leaders

GymNation’s exceptional score of 93 on the Digital Futures survey places it among only four companies to achieve this level of digital leadership in the fitness industry. Karl Foster, Chief Technology & Innovation Officer, highlights the significance of this achievement: 

“The survey doesn’t just measure how much technology a company uses but assesses how effectively that technology enhances the customer experience, drives growth and operational efficiencies, as well as supports sustainable business practices.”

He further explains the core factors behind GymNation’s success:

• Platforms: GymNation has built its operations and technology ecosystem around key platforms like PerfectGym, EGYM and Salesforce, seamlessly integrating them through proprietary technology into a unified, centrally controlled system.
• Customized and Fully Integrated Website: Their website is not only meticulously tailored to reflect the brand, but it is also fully integrated with backend systems, offering a seamless user experience from start to finish.
• Industry-Leading AI Technology: Leveraging advanced AI, GymNation optimizes everything from customer engagement to operational efficiency. Their in-house machine learning models handle tasks such as classification and prediction, while their own voice, text and object-based AI systems work cohesively to deliver scalable hyper-personalized solutions.
• Employee Training and Development: GymNation invests in extensive training programs to ensure that all employees are proficient in using AI technologies, empowering staff to maximize the benefits of digital tools.
• Robust Management Processes: A comprehensive approach to technology lifecycle management ensures the effective development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of all digital initiatives.

Innovate to Elevate: Digital Strategic Approach

GymNation’s digital strategy is shaped by several factors that drive both innovation and growth. Constant product evolution ensures their offerings consistently meet and exceed customer expectations. A highly motivated and experienced team further supports success by fostering a culture of experimentation and continuous learning. This team is united under a shared vision, which promotes collaboration and accelerates innovation. 

GymNation Round-Ups

One of GymNation's standout initiatives was the launch of the GymNation Round-Ups, an automated digital journey that provided members with periodic progress updates in a fun and competitive way, inspired by Spotify's Wrapped. The round-ups resonated deeply, as evidenced by the viral sharing on social media.

To evaluate the impact of this initiative, GymNation conducted a six-month study, comparing 3,500 members who received the round-ups to a control group of 3,500 who didn’t. Those who engaged with them saw a 10.5% higher lifetime value and a stabilized visit frequency, with just a 0.4% drop, compared to a 16.8% drop in the control group. These results underscore the success of digitally engaging with members in meaningful and rewarding ways.

 

AI and Machine Learning at the Core of Operations

Additionally, GymNation achieved enhanced data accuracy through real-time data collection, which powers their AI systems for better member interactions. The fitness company employs advanced tools like Albus and Jenny to automate tasks, personalize member interactions and enhance operational efficiency.

• Albus, GymNation’s AI assistant, engages members across multiple platforms, providing real-time responses, tips and motivation. This tool drives member engagement and retention, helping increase training frequency and overall satisfaction.
• Jenny is a voice-based AI system that handles customer interactions and streamlines sign-ups within minutes. Jenny’s ability to create accounts and issue access information instantly has enhanced GymNation’s service delivery, offering 24/7 support.

GymNation’s in-house machine learning models also play a vital role in retention, predicting member churn with an accuracy rate of 87%. This data-driven approach allows the fitness chain to proactively address member needs, boost engagement and also increase operational efficiency, allowing staff to focus on higher-value activities. 

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PerfectGym’s Role in Digital Transformation

“PerfectGym has been fundamental to our digital transformation by facilitating integration through its open API platform, allowing us to seamlessly incorporate various technologies into our ecosystem. We use it for efficient membership management, streamlining sign-ups and renewals, and its robust data collection capabilities provide valuable insights into member behaviors and preferences. These features have collectively enhanced our operational efficiency and member engagement.” explains Karl Forster. 

In a nutshell, PerfectGym has empowered them to:

• Built a Robust Digital Ecosystem: PerfectGym’s open API facilitates integration with third-party software, simplifying the management of multiple locations. The wide range of strategic partnerships with leading providers enables fitness enterprises to connect, customize, and create a powerful digital hub tailored to their business needs.  
• Improve Member Experience: The system equips GymNation with valuable data insights into member behavior and preferences, allowing for personalized communication that delivers the right content at the right time. Members also benefit from self-service solutions that enable them to manage schedules and memberships with ease. For instance, GymNation offers secure and convenient club access through modern Gantner hardware. The integration of a secure QR code, accessible via the EGYM app, has streamlined the access process, enhancing both security and overall member satisfaction.
• Support Fast Scaling: PerfectGym facilitates GymNation’s rapid expansion without sacrificing performance. “Their robust service and support structure have proven invaluable in managing costs during periods of growth,” says Foster. Ant Martland adds: “PerfectGym’s automation has been crucial for us. With automated processes like 24/7 access systems and real-time data analytics, we’ve been able to grow quickly while maintaining a high level of service.”

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Thinking Beyond the Gym Walls 

GymNation’s digital strategy extends beyond traditional gym operations. Their forward-thinking approach ensures they remain ahead of industry trends by remaining actively engaged in their members' lives, even outside the clubs.

Karl Foster shares, “We view fitness holistically and are committed to our members' overall health and wellness journey. That’s why we’ve partnered with Lighthouse Arabia, one of the leading mental health providers in our region, to offer essential mental health support. Additionally, we leverage behavioral analytics to encourage members’ progression and consistency. We believe that staying fit and maintaining a routine are vital to overall wellness, and we strive to support our members beyond just physical fitness facilities.”

Future Growth and Innovation

GymNation’s digital journey is far from over. With ambitious plans for expansion across the GCC, they continue to innovate, benchmarking against global tech leaders and investing in AI and emerging technologies to sustain their leadership position.

Karl Foster highlights their ongoing focus: “We believe in continuous improvement. By regularly reviewing our processes, benchmarking globally, and staying committed to our vision, we will maintain our position as industry innovators.”

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Digital is for Everyone. Follow GymNation’s Path Now

GymNation’s success illustrates the importance of digital transformation for fitness operators. By following their lead and choosing the right technology partners, fitness operators can stay competitive, enhance member experiences and drive growth. PerfectGym played a pivotal role in GymNation’s transformation, and fitness businesses looking to embark on a similar journey should assess their own digital capabilities, invest in emerging technologies and foster a culture of continuous innovation.

Karl Foster concludes:

“Our tech stack, supported by PerfectGym, allows us to scale rapidly, integrate new systems seamlessly and deliver cost-effective support as we expand. Advancing our digital evolution is an ongoing process, but it keeps us at the forefront of the industry.”