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By Nick Rigitano
NSGA Director of Insights and Analysis
DOWNERS GROVE, ILLINOIS (August 3, 2020) – More than one-third of current owners of home fitness equipment plan to make an additional fitness purchase in the next two to three months, according to a survey conducted by Irwin Broh Research exploring the shift in consumers’ fitness habits and future purchase behaviors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among owners of either large fitness equipment or small fitness equipment only, the percent of those planning to purchase additional equipment was even higher (42 percent).
In terms of exercise habits, the study found that just more than half of respondents were exercising at home pre-pandemic. Slightly more are exercising now during the pandemic, and of those, nearly half say they planned to do so more often in the next two to three months.
The survey was conducted May 15-26, 2020 among 1,342 consumers age 18 or older who are members of a national online consumer panel. Overall, 82% or 1,096 of the surveyed consumers qualified to complete the fitness section of the survey as a result of participating in some form of exercise in January/February 2020.
Making the cost of participation more affordable for all is important, which is why NSGA has been lobbying for the passing of the Personal Health Investment Today (PHIT) Act. This legislation would allow Americans to use Pre-Tax Medical Accounts, such as Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) or Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), to reimburse physical activity expenses, thus helping to alleviate the financial barrier to participation.
For more information about the PHIT Act as well as downloadable resources to use in spreading the word on social media, visit the following link.
https://www.nsga.org/advocacy/legislative-advocacy/PHITAct/
For those interested in additional findings from the study, Irwin Broh will be hosting a webinar on August 5, 2020 at 1 p.m., Central Time (US and Canada). Registration for the webinar can be found at the following link https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8La1BNYKTnuJqUcHFQiVGw. For further information regarding the study, contact Melissa DeLuca at mdeluca@irwinbroh.com.
Irwin Broh conducts the studies for the NSGA’s Sports Participation in the US reports.
