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Summary of our market study
The French fitness market reached 2.8 billion euros in 2023.
The global market is valued at over 91 billion dollars, and the European market at 28 billion euros .
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the digitization of the coaching offer, with a growing emphasis on virtual sports coaching. This sub-segment includes various media such as videos, smartphone apps, live sessions on social media and digital platforms, with companies such as Freeletics and FizzUp leading the market.
Virtual sports coaching market trends in France
The French sports economy is valued at around 78 billion euros.
The French fitness market is growing at an estimated annual rate of 3%, reaching an estimated value of 2.8 billion euros. Nearly 58% of French people choose to practice "free" sports outside the traditional club setting.
Between 35% and 40% of the French population take part in fitness activities, defending the "sport-santé" ideology. This emerging ideology is particularly prevalent among people in their thirties, at a time in their lives when the importance of maintaining "health capital" is becoming increasingly apparent.
Every year, the French spend an average of 250 to 270 euros on sport.
Almost 57% of the population consider sport to be expensive, and are turning to affordable virtual coaching solutions.
As the digital space is enriched by a range of exercise apps and platforms, companies such as Freeletics and Strava are making their presence felt, auguring an imminent rise in the use of these digital tools for exercises ranging from performance tracking to personalized fitness regimes. Rates for online sessions can fluctuate, with an average price hovering around 45 to 50 euros per hour, depending on the sport, expertise and equipment required.
Virtual sports coaching is therefore on the cusp of significant innovation, underpinned by a confluence of digital penetration, a national penchant for virtual sports coaching, and a desire to improve people's quality of life.
Players in online sports coaching
TrainMe and ABC Sports Coaching have carved out a place for themselves in the virtual coaching segment as platforms for connecting customers and professionals. These companies are at the forefront, leveraging sophisticated algorithms to facilitate sessions perfectly tailored to the individual needs and goals of users seeking both fitness and skill development in a variety of sports.
FizzUp stands out for its comprehensive offering that combines the three elements of exercise programs, diet planning and mental well-being. The app not only guides users through personalized training programs, but also integrates nutritional advice and meditation practices to ensure an overall health transformation.
Freeletics has earned its place as the benchmark fitness app, thanks to advanced AI algorithms that create personalized training plans. The app promises a unique journey for each user, adapting to their progress and encouraging them to consistently commit to their personal fitness goals.
Basic Fit and Neoness, traditional fitness center chains, have expanded their offer to include digital coaching solutions. Complementing their indoor services, these establishments offer mobile apps that enable members to maintain their training regimen anywhere, anytime, enhancing the experience and value for the customer.
Leveraging the reach of platforms such as YouTube and Instagram, fitness influencers such as Sissy Mua and Tibo InShape provide accessible workout content to the masses.
Decathlon has launched its own coaching app, Decathlon Coach, which offers a range of training resources to help users stay motivated and track their performance.
Superprof has positioned itself as a marketplace for various subjects, including sports coaching, where independent coaches can offer personalized live training sessions online.
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Market definition and presentation
Coaching is a form of support designed to help a client achieve a goal. Coaches can be found in different fields, such as personal development, professional development or sport. In the latter case, the coach generally works in a gym or at home, whether salaried or self-employed.
Online sports coaching is a segment of the more global sports coaching market. Customers use digital tools to program their training, monitor their workouts and measure the progress of their performance: video sites, mobile applications, platforms to put them in touch with a coach, videoconferencing lessons, etc.
The sector is booming: the global market for sports coaching platforms could triple in size by 2031. While it's difficult to estimate the exact size of the French market, the increase in the number of companies belonging to the "coaching and sports teachers" segment within the sports sector, and the growth of the fitness market, which has picked up again following the Covid-19 crisis, are positive signs for online sports coaching.
The democratization of technological tools in sports practice is another key factor in the sector's development: applications and connected objects are now part of the daily lives of many athletes, who are looking for better support and monitoring of their activity.
The market is highly fragmented, with many different types of players involved: specialists who have developed dedicated tools, independent coaches present on platforms, influencers and videographers sharing their content online, etc. The big names in sport (equipment manufacturers, retail chains, gyms) are also present, as are tech companies. This abundant competition does not prevent new start-ups from trying their luck on the market. Each is trying to stand out from the crowd by focusing on differentiating elements: business models (free, freemium, subscription), content that goes beyond sport (health, lifestyle, cooking recipes, etc.), specific offers for businesses, etc.), specific offers for businesses, etc.
1.2 The global market
estimated at $***.* million in ****, the global market for sports coaching platforms could more than triple in size by ****, reaching $*.*** billion. This would represent a CAGR (***) of **.*% over this period.
Sales forecasts for the sports coaching platforms market World, ****-****, in millions of dollars Source: ****
This increase is linked to a sustained ...
1.3 The French market
There are few precise economic indicators for the French sports coaching market, and even fewer for its online equivalent. However, it is possible to give an idea of the weight and dynamics of the sector based on other data.
In ****, the French sports industry will generate sales worth ** billion euros. Sports ...
2 Demand analysis
2.1 The French are increasingly sporty
in ****, **% of French people had taken part in at least one physical activity or sport in the past year, up * points on ****. Despite a slight drop compared to ****, slightly more French people are taking part in sport.
Proportion of French people who have taken part in a physical activity or sport ...
2.2 Mostly solitary athletes, but looking for support
Nearlyone in two French people practiced their sport alone in ****, a stable proportion compared to ****.
Proportion of French people practicing their sport alone or with others France, ****, in % Source: ****
These results support the sports most practiced by the French in ****, which do not require the presence of more than one person: ...
2.3 Increasingly familiar with digital tools in their sporting activities
Sports training and fitness were cited by the French as the most widespread reasons for using apps to improve health and well-being in ****. They come out on top for all age groups, with the exception of Gen Z, who place apps for staying connected with family and friends above all others ...
2.4 The French are vigilant about spending on sports
The annual budget of a French household for sport is *** euros, rising to *** euros for those who practice a sport. Among these costs are subscriptions: **% of French people pay a subscription to a gym - which may offer online coaching - and *% to an app. The proportion subscribing free of charge ...
3 Market structure
3.1 A fragmented market with a variety of players
The online sports coaching market is vast and complex, both because of the difficulty of precisely determining its scope and because of the multiplicity and diversity of the offerings on offer. A large number of different players are working side by side:
mobile applications and specialized pure-players have emerged to deliver ...
3.2 Online sports coaching specialists
Applications dedicated to online sports coaching
There are a great many applications specializing in online sports coaching. They can be distinguished by several criteria:
they can be generalist, offering comprehensive training programs to keep in shape, or focus on a specific sport. they adopt a variety of business models: free, freemium ...
3.3 Traditional players investing in online sports coaching
Traditional sports players
For gyms, equipment manufacturers and other sporting goods retailers, online sports coaching represents a relevant new market segment. By positioning themselves in this segment, these players seek to strengthen the link with their customers and the feeling of belonging to a community, while keeping them within their brand ...
4 Offer analysis
4.1 Online sports coaching rates and services
Online sports coaching can include a variety of services:
individual or series exercises ; pre-established training programs ; live or recorded video lessons; remote relationship with a dedicated coach; performance monitoring over time, via data collection and analysis; etc.
Developments in the sector are tending to diversify this offer, and it is no ...
4.2 An increasingly wide range of products and services, no longer limited to physical training
Online sports coaching is becoming less and less about physical exercise and strength training programs. Providers are expanding their offerings to include nutrition, sleep and stress reduction, marking a shift towards the more global issue of well-being. Apple Fitness+, for example, offers meditation sessions, while Fitbit provides "suggestions for improving your ...
4.3 Gamification, an important retention lever
Gamification is increasingly making inroads into the world of online sports coaching. By incorporating game mechanics into their services, industry players can more easily attract and retain customers, thereby improving their retention rate, particularly for free applications. The success of gamification lies not only in its social aspect (***), but also in ...
4.4 New avenues opened up by young French players
While the online sports coaching market already appears almost saturated, some start-ups are trying to make their mark by offering something a little different. The French sector is home to several such start-ups:
Sport Heroes, via its United Heroes app, is aimed at companies, via a subscription system, to encourage employees ...
5 Regulations
5. Regulations
Diploma requirements
In France, the profession of sports coach, as a paid activity involving the supervision of a sporting activity, requires accreditation and a state diploma.
It is also forbidden to be paid to supervise a sporting activity with the status ofauto-entrepreneur without a diploma. Failure to comply with the law ...
6 Positioning the players
6. Segmentation
- ABC Coach Sportif
- FizzUp
- Freeletics
- Tibo Inshape - D2AM
- Adidas
- 8fit
- Peloton Interactive
- Strava
- Trainsweateat
- Superprof
- Decathlon Groupe
- Asics
- Basic-Fit
- Apple
- Zwift
- Garmin
- Sport Heroes
- Nike
List of charts presented in this market study
- Sales forecasts for the sports coaching platform market
- Economic weight of the various segments of the sports industry
- Number of companies active in the various segments of the sports industry
- Sales of companies registered under NAF code 93.13Z ("Activities of fitness centers")
- Proportion of French people who practice their sport alone or with others
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Latest news
Decathlon: all the 2023 performance figures - 05/04/2024
- - Worldwide sales 2023: 15.6 billion euros, up +4.4% on 2022
- - Decathlon presence: 78 countries.
- - Number of products sold worldwide last year: 1.19 billion.
- - Share of digital sales: 17.4%
- - Sales in France: 4.752 billion euros, up +1.24% on 2022.
- - Total number of stores worldwide: 1,749, including 319 in France.
- - Total number of employees: 101,000, including 24,000 in France.
Decathlon revolutionizes itself to become a global brand - 13/03/2024
- - Company sales: 15.4 billion euros
- - Number of stores: Over 1700
- - Presence in 69 countries
- - Number of brands developed by employees : Over 70
- - Number of disciplines covered by brands: Around one hundred
- - Focus on product-related services: rental, second-hand, subscription, recycling, etc.
Trainsweateat, the start-up of influencer Sissy Mua | Sissy Mua and her start-up Trainsweateat - 19/02/2024
- Sissy Mua has 2 million subscribers on Youtube and 1.5 million on Instagram.
- Her company, Trainsweateat (TSE), offers health and fitness programs via an app, a sportswear line and a range of food supplements.
- Monthly subscriptions on TSE range from 5.5 to 14.9 euros. TSE offers over 400 hours of video content and more than 300 recipes.
- TSE has convinced 30 companies, including Bose, L'Occitane en Provence, IZI by EDF and E.Leclerc stores.
- TSE has a majority of female customers
- The percentage of paid and unpaid users of fitness apps has almost quadrupled in France from 2019 to 2023, rising from 6% to 22% (source: Statista).
French Tech: conquering China, Superprof's crazy challenge - 29/01/2024
- The target market is China, a market of over 1 billion people with a rapidly rising middle class.
- Superprof is a platform that connects private tutors with students.
- Superprof has joined forces with Tencent to comply with China's domestic data hosting regulations.
- Superprof operates in fifty countries.
- Superprof has made sixteen acquisitions to facilitate its international development.
- Superprof has forecast sales of 42 million euros in 2023, and plans to achieve 100 million euros in revenues by 2025.
- The company is self-financed, and Superprof plans to launch its service in China in mid-February.
- Superprof discontinued its activity in South Korea due to the difficulty of breaking into this market.
How Basic-Fit, Europe's leading fitness company, made its mark in France - 25/01/2024
- The Dutch king of low-cost fitness has opened 800 clubs in France since 2014. It is aiming for 1,200 by 2030.
- 1400 clubs in six countries, 60% of them in France.
- Listed on the stock exchange, Basic-Fit expects to exceed sales of one billion euros in 2024, after completing more than 200 openings in the year.
- The sector (5,000 gyms in France) ended 2023 on a record high, with sales of over 2 billion euros (+5% on 2019)
- Thanks to 5 million subscribers (+1.5%). Basic-Fit is in first place, ahead of Keepcool-Neoness, Fitness Park and L'Orange Bleue.
- These players control half the sector, according to Union Sport & Cycle, the industry's professional organization.
Basic Fit: Rapid rise of the gym leader - 23/01/2024
- Basic-Fit has opened its 800th French establishment on the Champs Elysées.
- Basic-Fit has been present on the French market for 10 years.
- The gym chain has almost 2 million members.
- In France, only 9% of people work out indoors, compared with over 20% in the United States.
- Basic-Fit gyms are typically 1,500 m² in size, with seven large training areas.
- The group has set up 90 new clubs in 2020, and 81 in 2021.
- With 135 new units in 2023, Basic-Fit has opened the most stores in France, even ahead of Action supermarkets.
- The gym chain plans to open around 100 new clubs in 2024, to reach 1,200 clubs across France by 2030.
- Basic-Fit first targeted towns with populations of over 30,000, and now those with less than 30,000, where over 38 million French people live.
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The online sports coaching market | France
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