ukactive has announced the launch of its Digital Futures strategy in partnership with Sport England today (9 August), to improve the application of digital by fitness and leisure operators.
Digital Futures will see a programme of activity designed to support operators through the latest benchmarking tools, providing new insights and guidance to modernise and grow.
The programme has been designed in collaboration with ukactive Strategic Partners Gladstone, Myzone and EGYM, and shaped by contributors including operators and SMEs from the fit-tech sector, such as Keepme, SweatWorks, Xn and Orbit4 as well as other experts.
Digital Futures forms a key part of ukactive’s work to support the recovery and development of the sector, including reform in some areas.
The aim of improving the digital process in the fitness sector is to ultimately benefit the nation and help more people to get active.
The starting point will be to evaluate the sector’s digital maturity and effectiveness across dozens of digital measures, and provide a reference point from which to chart progress towards meeting new and emerging consumer demands.
The first step begins today, with the opening of a consultation for ukactive members which will help to identify the challenges and opportunities facing operators across the breadth of the sector.
The consultation invites operators to measure their digital maturity and effectiveness by answering a set of questions designed by digital consultancy Rewrite Digital, which will provide respondents with a digital maturity score.
This process will be supported through interview and other desk top activities to build out recommendations and insights.
The overall findings will be combined with insights from a deeper analysis of customer journeys from a selected group of operators.
Recommendations from the consultation will be presented at the ukactive Conference on 13 October, and will be used to inform policies and funding that help develop the value that all operators can generate from digital to ensure a sustainable future.
Steven Scales, Director of Membership and Sector Development at ukactive, said: “The Digital Futures strategy is a significant moment in the recovery journey of the sector moving through the pandemic.
“Based on clear insight, the ability to compare and contrast business capability and, importantly, the needs of the consumer will be headline priorities of the strategy.
“Working with key industry partners and members, the Digital Futures strategy, alongside reports and the ability to self-assess against business need, will be key industry assets to enable the sector’s recovery, and further enhance the consumer journey and experience.”
Allison Savich, Strategic Lead for Data & Innovation at Sport England, said: “We have an opportunity to use the disruption COVID-19 has brought to accelerate progress – to reinvent as more agile, inclusive and resilient organisations and to change the way we do things to better meet the needs of everyone, in every community.
“We support this insight-driven approach to identify the challenges and opportunities that digital should support.”
To complete the Digital Futures consultation and receive your individual report click here.
For more information, contact Dave Gerrish, Strategic Digital Lead at ukactive: davegerrish@ukactive.org.uk