Mindbody, Stripe Partner to Transform Virtual Fitness

Need to Know 

• Fitness platform Mindbody has partnered with payments firm Stripe to help expand the business and reach new digital markets through a streamlined checkout process.
• As more fitness classes move online due to the pandemic, 70% of Mindbody customers are using video classes instead of in-studio.
• Mindbody has over 1.3 million monthly users.
• In order to compete with fitness giants Peloton and Soulcycle, a number of popular brands like Apple and lululemon are moving into the virtual space as well.

Analysis

As the popularity of virtual fitness classes continues to rise post-pandemic, digital fitness platform Mindbody has enlisted payments company Stripe to help drive its expansion through North America and Europe. 

Mindbody is a software company, with over 1.3 million monthly active users, that works with companies in the wellness space to manage their businesses online, from handling staff payroll to booking client appointments, and now delivering livestream classes and video on demand. 

By partnering with Stripe as a payment solutions provider, gyms and yoga studios using Mindbody can now offer an easy, streamlined checkout experience. 

“As the global wellness industry goes through a seismic shift, fitness studios, spas and salons are adapting with technology to stay connected with their customers,” said Dan Chandre, SVP of payments at Mindbody. “With Stripe, we have a global technology partner to help our customers — from Canadian yoga studios to British boxing classes — keep growing and evolving in a new wellness world.”

Mindbody data shows that the pandemic has caused the popularity of virtual workouts to soar. In June, 70% of consumers were using pre-recorded video as opposed to just 17% last year. Similarly, the use of livestream classes grew from 7% to 71% from 2019. 

Mindbody isn’t the only fitness company seeing business growth from the effects of the pandemic. Peloton, a company that was established in virtual fitness before the pandemic started, grew 172% at the start of the year, with overall revenue hitting $607.1 million.

Other companies have had to pivot to keep up. Soulcycle, a popular spinning studio, launched its own at-home bike earlier this year to compete with Peloton, as well as a subscription-based class-streaming app.  

Never ones to miss out on a digital trend, Apple also announced plans to launch a digital fitness platform this year called Apple Fitness+. Optimized to work best with Apple Watch, the new platform will offer virtual classes that include cycling, treadmill, rowing, HIIT, strength, yoga, and dance. Similarly, athletics retailer lululemon acquired home fitness platform Mirror earlier this year. 

Mindbody’s partnership with Stripe will support smaller, locally-owned fitness studios in offering a modern, omnichannel experience for their customers.