Run a Smarter Studio: 4 Boutique Fitness Trends You Need to Know

We all know the saying “work smarter, not harder.” There’s no doubt that boutique fitness studio owners work hard—but we want to help you work smart, with the help of data-backed insights and expert advice. 

This has never been more important, as the industry continues to grow and evolve. Many studios are adding new modalities, introducing wellness offerings like saunas and cold plunging, and so much more. It’s crucial to stay competitive by meeting client demand for variety and keeping an eye on the trends.

Mariana Tek sees it as our responsibility to drive the industry forward. So we’re investing heavily in sharing data, to educate and bring more transparency to what’s really working.

In that spirit, we recently a panel webinar with three experts with deep experience helping studios work smarter in the current fitness climate: Alexa Cawley, Founder & CEO of Forever Friday Consulting and host of The Friday Society Podcast; Rhys Kendall, Business Insights at Mariana Tek; and Shannon Tracey, VP of Sales and Marketing at Mariana Tek, who previously managed the original SoulCycle studio in New York City and launched 26 locations at Flywheel Sports.

What did these experts (and the data!) have to say about running smart studios in 2025? Find out our key takeaways and Alexa’s marketing tips for fitness studios below, and be sure to watch the full webinar for even more insights.

Boutique Fitness Tips and Trends from Our Webinar on Running Smart Studios 

1) Conversion to membership takes longer than you think

The average client in North America visits a studio 5–6 times before committing to a membership—and it varies by region. For studios in the northeast US and California, it can take two more visits to convert someone to a membership versus studios in the southeast US.

Tip from Alexa: Replace an intro offer of a discounted 1st class with a 1+1, and consider adding in a “secondary” intro offer of a 2-week unlimited to get that client to the first 5-6 visits.

2) More visits in the intro period = more conversions

When it comes to intro offers, we see higher conversion rates when the package includes multiple classes (vs. one discounted class), and when there’s a small fee attached. It’s all about skin in the game and building habits early—plus trying multiple classes, class times etc.

In terms of converting someone from an intro visit to a second full-price purchase, there’s quite the dramatic shift from one class to two classes. If you can get someone in for that second class, you can double the conversion rate.

Tip from Alexa: “Think of this time with a new client like dating. The first date is really introductory, but the second, third, fourth date—things start to get exciting! I really love to use the Xplor Growth Gamification Suite to turn this into a challenge and make it fun.”

3) Attendance is up and seasonality is smoothing out

Our data shows 7% growth in monthly attendance from 2023 to 2024 (only inclusive of studios on the platform both years) and fewer big swings throughout the year. The boutique fitness space is growing and clients are getting more consistent—the data shows it.

Alexa’s tip: Use your dashboards in Mariana Tek to know your numbers and plan ahead. That enables you to make efforts to “smooth out the lumps” with special promos, gamification, and more. And remember—don’t be too afraid of slow times, especially if you’re making progress on building conversion into recurring memberships!

4) Top studios win with memberships

The thinking on memberships has shifted a lot since the earlier days of boutique fitness, when some studios didn’t even offer unlimited memberships. But our data shows that the best-performing studios generate most of their revenue from memberships. The highest-earning studios (top 25% by annual revenue) get nearly 60% of their revenue from memberships. Check out the webinar to see the full revenue breakdown for both cohorts.

Tip from Alexa: No matter your goal for memberships, try to weave member perks into every conversation: Your newsletter, social media, and in-studio marketing. Not sure what perks to add for membership sales? Try guest passes, 1 graced late cancel per month, and member events!

NEW: Mariana Tek Insights 2.0

The webinar wrapped up with an exciting sneak peek at Insights 2.0, Mariana Tek’s new data dashboard. We’re putting powerful, easy-to-understand reporting right at your fingertips so you can make those smart, fast decisions and run your business with clarity.  This new dashboard is currently in beta with an end of summer release date. It gives customers clear, immediate insights so you can understand what’s happening in your business and act fast with confidence.

For a demo of the new insights dashboard, and plenty more data points, watch the full webinar below. Thanks to Alexa Cawley for joining us and sharing her insights and expertise!

Take advantage of Mariana Tek’s summer promo

And don’t forget – our summer promo is still poppin, so get it while it’s hot! Studios switching to Mariana Tek get two months free if they book by September 1.