Fitness club operators hope to increase NFT memberships.
The fitness industry is utilizing NFT membership models to address issues.
Numerous businesses have started employing non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to address real-world issues, despite the fact that many NFT initiatives continue to lose money as a result of the bear market.
NFTs for subscription/membership-based models, or loyalty programs, in particular, are gaining ground. Brands will shift away from ‘cool’ non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in favor of loyalty, according to Forrester’s 2023 NFT and metaverse predictions research. Brands will begin concentrating more on NFTs in 2023 that are connected to consumer loyalty, brand experience, and the strengthening of relationships.
These kinds of NFT use cases are in fact being used right now. For instance, Starbucks has unveiled a loyalty program based on NFT. Industry experts have also started to discuss why subscription-based services should use NFTs to strengthen consumer-brand relationships.
NFT subscriptions for health clubs
Although the idea of using NFTs for membership models or loyalty schemes is a new one, mainstream industries are starting to see their potential. A few forward-thinking gym owners have already started experimenting with NFT-based memberships, suggesting that the billion-dollar fitness industry may be the next industry to adopt this model.
Global Fit Club, a blockchain-based fitness platform, will soon provide NFT memberships to give consumers access to a comprehensive range of fitness services, according to Deni Zulic, CEO and founder of Global Fit Club. In order to ensure that members have access to more benefits when they have an NFT membership, Zulic explained that Global Fit Club is partnering with well-known gyms like Anytime Fitness and F45 Training.
This is more than simply a gym subscription. “Global Fit Club has a number of partners lined up to provide this, so NFT holders will receive discounts on fitness-related services such as supplements, personal training, and equipment,” he said. Zulic also mentioned that Global Fit Club will use its move-earn platform, which rewards NFT holders with cryptocurrency when movement is recorded, to entice users to exercise.
Although the idea behind Global Fit Club is novel, according to Zulic, an NFT-membership model has the potential to address many of the problems the fitness sector is now facing. For instance, he cited how changing gym membership costs can put gym attendees in a tight financial situation.
Zulic thinks that an NFT-based gym membership could be the answer to this issue because users could buy the nonfungible token at its floor price and then keep using it for as long as they wanted. According to the asset’s appreciation over time, a member could sell their NFT and possibly even turn a profit if they decide to discontinue their membership, he continued. “Gym members can fully own their memberships using NFTs. If they desire, they can fix a price and then sell their membership,” Zulic said.
The NFT membership can ensure that cryptocurrency payments are sent directly to a user’s wallet when movement is tracked, according to Zulic, who also pointed out that while some gyms have loyalty programs that let members earn rewards for working out, “there is actual money behind this, which will help with customer retention and satisfaction.”
Zulic makes a valid point, as seen by a poll that revealed 67% of gym members never actually use their subscriptions. Additionally, according to recent research, Americans spend $397 million annually on unused gym memberships. This issue might be resolved by an incentive scheme that accepts cryptocurrency payments.
Zulic mentioned that the Global Fit Club is scheduled to debut in 2023’s first quarter. Therefore, it is yet unclear if NFTs will genuinely address issues related to conventional gym subscriptions. Industry professionals in the wellness sector are beginning to notice the possibilities of NFT membership models in the interim. Co-founder of Equinox Fitness Clubs Lavinia Errico told that she thinks NFTs would be incredibly valuable for membership-based businesses.
Errico mentioned that she just became a member of the Rafi Lounge board of advisers, a wellness center and fitness center with locations in Malibu, California, that currently provides NFT memberships. Although Rafi Lounge has been operating for more than two years, its founder Rafi Anteby told Cointelegraph that he just lately realized the need for a more effective membership model.
Many health clubs around the world overpromise and underdeliver on the benefits they offer to their members. Even if members don’t take advantage of their membership, they frequently find themselves locked into high rates. Traditional gym memberships also come with security risks, he continued.
Anteby has started pre-selling a small number of NFT memberships to current members to address these issues.
“Trust is essential in this new membership model. I’m starting with clients that already have faith in me because I’ve been in business for more than two years. Before consumers participate in an NFT drop, I think it’s critical to know who is behind it, he said. The official Rafi Lounge NFT mint, according to Anteby, will happen on November 11.
Anteby concurred with Zulic in saying that using NFTs as memberships gives users complete ownership. It also gives members the option to sell their membership on a secondary market if they so choose. “This gives members the opportunity to reap more benefits,” he said.
Anteby notes that community building is also crucial with this strategy, thus she hopes that Rafi Lounge members will keep their subscriptions. Rafi Lounge is about combining Web2 with Web3, and employing NFTs makes this possible, he said.
More crucially, Anteby emphasized that NFT-based memberships can provide higher levels of security because verification relies solely on the nonfungible token. We have a program that generates a special QR code for each member who is in possession of an NFT. Additionally, facial recognition is used. This guarantees that only members may enter and enroll in classes.