Every January, millions of people across the UK hit the reset button. New goals, new routines, new habits – and crucially, new gym memberships. Consumers feel optimistic, motivated, and ready to improve their lives. The New Year brings the biggest wave of gym sign-ups and wellness spending we see all year. It’s predictable, it’s powerful, and it creates one of the strongest seasonal advertising moments across Boomerang’s health and fitness environment.
From premium health clubs like David Lloyd, to mainstream gyms such as Pure Gym and community leisure centres such as Places Leisure, the first 12 weeks of the year are marked by a surge of consumer intention. People want to act healthier, feel healthier, build new regimes, and take action. For brands, it represents a golden window of attention – a moment when consumers are actively looking for change and willing to invest in themselves.
The data is consistent year after year: the New Year is the busiest period for the UK fitness industry.
Across the sector, January typically sees:
- 30-40% more new memberships compared with the rest of the year
- A lift in weekly gym visits of +20-40%, especially in Weeks 1-8
- Dramatic increases in class attendance, PT bookings, sauna and spa usage, and general dwell time in clubs
- Renewed interest and investment in wellness products, health tech, sportswear, nutrition, and self-improvement services.
This is not just a “gym pattern”, but a behavioural shift. The New Year is one of the few windows in the consumer calendar when motivation, spending, and real-world activity all move in the same direction. For Boomerang’s networks, this means more people in gyms, but also more people focused on wellness beyond working up a sweat.
Three forces drive the New Year uplift:
Resolution Behaviour
People set goals: Lose weight. Get fitter. Reduce stress. Spend more time with family. This makes January a time when consumers are more receptive to brand messages that help them make positive changes.
“Clean Slate” Mentality
The New Year creates a natural reset – routines feel broken up, budgets feel refreshed, and people are open to trying new things. They are more willing to switch products, sign up for services, and try new fitness or wellness activities.
Higher Intent – Higher Engagement
Consumers aren’t just browsing; they’re actively searching for solutions. They’re motivated, curious, and in a mindset to take action and find resources that help them to achieve goal success.
The opportunity to reach high-intent consumers
Health clubs and gyms are unique environments. They have high dwell times (90 minutes plus), are routine-based, and visit-heavy (3-4 times a week). Members are typically feeling 75% more positive, confident and motivated when they are there, which creates an open-minded opportunity for brand engagement.
The Jan/Feb boost in new members (and existing member visits) delivers significantly more brand impressions and more repeat ad exposure for campaigns running across our network of 900 health and fitness located screens. We expect screen footfall to increase by 40% across the first 8 weeks of the year, with the result being an annual bump in membership of c12% (UK Active growth estimates).
This moment is a one-time valuable opportunity for brands to be associated with this boost in personal motivation and positivity, and to do so in environments where consumers are actively working on their health and wellbeing goals. Ask us how you double down on gyms and health clubs in the new year.
Sources: UK Active; PureGym; Norstat
Article by Josh Bingham
Images by Jonathan Borba, Andres Ayrton, Pavel Danilyuk
