Capturing the Growing Athleisure Market: Is Your Studio Ready For Lifestyle Retail?
The athleisure market share projects growth of up to $548 billion by 2028. Is your studio ready to take advantage of that? Read on for Astral's best practices in introducing a lifestyle retail category into your studio and how to sell through like a retail superstar!
Defining Lifestyle: What Does It Mean at Astral?
The lifestyle category can be subjective to your personal style, but at Astral, we define lifestyle as any apparel you wouldn't wear in a workout class. Think knitwear, cozy overwear pieces, and lounge pants like joggers and sweats. As activewear popularity grows, so does the lifestyle category, and consumers are looking for apparel designed for their workout and life. Check out Astral's top 6 tips for growing the lifestyle category in your studio.
Know Your Customers' Needs
Your customers are your most important resource. To ensure you're securing the right lifestyle pieces for your studio, start by talking to your customers. What are they looking for? Which of their needs aren't currently being met? Discovering your customer's style and comfort requests will give you a better idea of the styles, fabrics, and features you're looking for and help you make better purchase decisions.
Source High-Quality Clothing
The lifestyle category emphasizes comfort. When sourcing apparel for your studio, choose high-quality clothing worth investing in. Look for pieces your members can wear and will hold up against time. Lifestyle pieces are typically premium styles, and you want to make sure the purchase is worth it for your members. Set up a live showroom shopping appointment with Astral and we can curate a Lifestyle specific assortment that suits your budget and customers.
Offer a Variety of Styles and Size
Everybody loves to lounge. Use the lifestyle category to cater to a broader range of customers. It's essential to offer a range of styles and sizes to ensure all your members feel seen in your studio and retail space. Offering new colors and prints adds excitement to your members' shopping experience.
Create Visual Displays
Visual displays showcase your lifestyle offering and attract customers to your studio's retail space. Create displays that highlight your retail assortment's unique features and benefits. Encourage your members to engage with your displays to discover which super-soft fabrics are their favorite or if the compression on a particular legging is stretchy enough for them. If you have a mannequin in your retail space, make sure to rotate their outfit weekly or bi-weekly to keep your members interested.
Train Your Staff
Your staff is your best advertisement for your retail and should be knowledgeable about your assortment. Train your staff to suggest pieces that complement clients' workout routines. Dress your front desk staff and instructors in retail featured in-studio so members can see those pieces on the body and in motion.
Market Your Clothing
Marketing your athleisure clothing can increase sales and attract new customers to your studio. We love seeing studios get creative on social media and feature the retail they secured from Astral. Offering promotions or discounts to incentivize customers to try your clothing is also a great way to engage customers online and offline.
Key Takeaway
Introducing a lifestyle category in your studio's retail space can increase your studio's profit and attract new members. By knowing your customer's needs, providing a high-quality assortment, offering a variety of styles and sizes, creating appealing visuals, training your staff, and marketing your studio's retail space, you can attract and retain loyal customers who appreciate your attention to detail and commitment to your members' happiness.