Over the past year, younger adults in the UK have been quietly shifting how they spend their time and money. The familiar peaks in January are still there, recent consumer spend data from Experian shows that the motivation behind them looks different.
Young consumers are treating health and wellbeing less as an occasional reset and more as a part of everyday life
The latest UKactive Market Report outlines the broader picture. Membership penetration reached 16.9% in 2024 and sector revenue exceeded 5.7 billion pounds, an 8.8% increase on the previous year. The growth reflects rising membership levels and sustained engagement across the sector, but the Experian findings add more detail to this shift.
Among 18 to 34 year olds in 2025, gym and healthy groceries spending grew year on year by 9%
That's in addition to a 13% increase in spending on home meal services. Overall gym membership spending also increased by 11% over Christmas and rose again into January, with nutrition and fitness related transactions up 6% in the six weeks leading up to 20th January 2025.
Taken together, the figures point to a clear change in how younger adults value their health and where they choose to invest.
For operators, the timing of this matters as much as the trend itself
The new year rush has always been busy, but this year’s cohort is arriving with a slightly different mindset. These are members who already show willingness to spend on wellness, who follow routines, and who link exercise to mental wellbeing and more. This means that the lifetime value of a membership looks different. January becomes less about capturing a seasonal spike and more about onboarding people who expect to build health into their routine for the rest of the year.
This aligns with what many operators have been seeing for some time. Facilities are strong. Programming is well established. The competition is healthy. Yet the expectations of younger members keep expanding. They want support that goes beyond physical training. Not in an abstract lifestyle sense, but in very practical ways. Access to mental health support, help with managing sleep, stress, nutrition, recovery. The things they are already paying for elsewhere.
The question becomes how to meet that expectation without adding operational complexity and costs. Adding health and wellbeing services to your membership offer is one of the practical routes.
HealthKey helps gyms offer that support in a straightforward way
We connect gyms to vetted health services that complement the fitness experience. For gyms, it is a practical way to respond to what younger adults are showing through their behaviour. Not by reinventing the model, but by adding something that supports how today’s members think about their health.
Ultimately, with the right support embedded into their membership, members who join this new year are more likely to remain members long after January is over.
