Title: A qualitative analysis of customer acquisition in online fitness communities

Authors: S. Yamini; M.S. Gajanand

Addresses: Department of Management Studies, National Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli, Tiruchirappalli, India ' Operations Management and Decision Sciences, Indian Institute of Management Tiruchirappalli, Tiruchirappalli, India

Abstract: Physical activity and exercise are important for all age groups. The virtual fitness sector has experienced a boom post-COVID-19 pandemic due to changes in lifestyle. Research studies that analyse the effect of the usage of fitness applications are very scarce. To bridge this research gap, the impact of these factors in creating awareness and increasing the download of fitness apps is studied. We conduct an exploratory study to identify the factors that influence the online fitness sector post-COVID-19 pandemic and find alternatives that can attract more customers to use fitness applications. The results of the study show that advertisements in social media play a major role in marketing a product to a larger audience, but it is not necessary that a celebrity will make an impact on the product to the audience. The results from this study will help managers of fitness apps and directors of online fitness programs.

Keywords: virtual fitness applications; healthcare; digital healthcare start-up; exploratory study; customer acquisition.

DOI: 10.1504/IJENM.2025.144606

International Journal of Enterprise Network Management, 2025 Vol.16 No.1, pp.1 - 22

Received: 23 Aug 2022
Accepted: 14 Aug 2023
Published online: 25 Feb 2025 *

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