Analyzing Consumer Loyalty through Service Experience and Service Convenience: Differences between Instructor Fitness Classes and Virtual Fitness Classes

Abstract

The eruption of technology has revolutionized the sports sector, incorporating new elements and new forms, and has therefore targeted sports activities. The inclusion of virtual fitness classes is leading to an increase in the offers available to consumers, expanding the hours that consumers can exercise and leading to a greater variability of customer services. The present study intends to go deeper into the knowledge of the fitness center sector in the Spanish context by evaluating the poorly analyzed area of directed activities, either with a teacher or in a virtual mode, and how these are perceived by the users of the centers. The sample consisted of a total of 1943 users, 1143 of whom were customers who conducted fitness activities directed by instructors, and 800 questionnaires were completed by customers who conducted virtual fitness activities in fitness centers classified as low-cost, medium, and boutique business models. The relationships between service experience, service convenience, satisfaction, and future intentions were analyzed. The results show positive relationships in all the variables studied in the instructor fitness classes. However, they are not significant in some variables studied involving virtual fitness classes.