For the majority of Americans, fitness is intimidating, inaccessible, and unaffordable. Well-being has been deprioritized, partly because people lack the right motivation, support, and guidance to get active. The pandemic worsened this problem, instilling a renewed sense of urgency to focus on health and well-being.

The most significant barriers to consumers' readiness to embark on a fitness journey include not knowing where to start, how to exercise, and feelings of self-consciousness. Today’s consumers expect more flexible, frictionless experiences that meet them wherever they are in their fitness journey. To meet these changing customer expectations and redefine well-being, Planet Fitness needed to transform so that more people could experience the brand everyday, regardless of their location, whether at home or in the gym. The goal was to create an end-to-end digital experience that supported and motivated people of all ages, backgrounds, and levels, throughout their fitness journey.

Today’s training experiences turn people away from fitness rather than toward it. Nearly 80% of Americans are not getting enough exercise to meet the standards of good health. So Planet Fitness spoke to the majority of Americans who aren’t exercising enough – those that are intimidated by picture perfect influencers, social validation, and subscription models – by creating an end-to-end digital experience based on one simple ethos: ‘Judgement Free Fitness’.

It pointed to the change needed and would influence every touchpoint a consumer encountered during their Planet Fitness journey.

Planet Fitness spoke to the majority of Americans who aren’t exercising enough – by creating an end-to-end experience based on one simple ethos: ‘Judgement Free Fitness’. Real people with diverse body types are the face of the experience. A supportive tone would guide people through every digital touchpoint, from workouts to equipment tutorials. The free app with free workout content and free gym passes removed any cost barrier to starting fitness. A redesigned join-flow made it easy for anyone to sign-up on the web and explore affordably priced memberships at 2500+ locations. And members were incentivized to refer a friend.

To activate the ethos of ‘Judgement Free Fitness’, every aspect of the digital experience was redesigned to reach everyone. An inclusive global design system for the site and app, exceeded AA accessibility standards. Real people with diverse body types are the face of the experience. And a supportive tone would guide people through every digital touchpoint. The free app with free workout content and free gym passes removed any cost barrier to starting fitness. A redesigned join-flow made it easy for anyone to sign-up on the web and explore affordably priced memberships at 2500+ locations. The app bridged the digital world and the physical world by tailoring workout programs personalized to member’s levels and motivation for home or gym. At the gym, scan and learn codes delivered equipment tutorials for those who don't know where to start. Whether you were checking in, or completing a workout every win was celebrated.

From the design system to the app and the physical gym, 'Judgment Free Fitness' was leveraged to create experiences that welcomed all. Workout content was designed for all fitness levels, especially beginners who are often intimidated by where to start their journey.

As a result of this transformative approach, Planet Fitness ranked #1 health and fitness app in App Store in 2023, rising 20% to a rating of 4.8/5 stars. Their success was underscored by a 2.3M increase in app users and an 83% YOY uplift in workout sessions from 2022 to 2023. The acceleration of their digital presence meant over 8.3 million active app users as of January 2023, representing a 2.3 million increase from the previous year. In addition, Planet Fitness achieved a significant milestone of 18 million members across 2,500+ locations, up 1.7 million from the previous year.