Why Mobile Will Define the Future of Fitness – And Why the Smart Operators Are Moving Now 

By Lee Robinson, VP of Sales, ABC Fitness 

Recently, I’ve been on the road – visiting clubs, speaking at events like HFA, and hosting intimate strategy sessions at our VIP gatherings. I’ve also spent time in the field with reps across the U.S., meeting operators where they are. One recurring theme in nearly every conversation? 

Mobile adoption. 

Or more specifically: hesitation around mobile. 

Many operators I’ve spoken with are skeptical. And honestly, I don’t blame them. A lot of clubs leaned into mobile during COVID out of necessity. Adoption spiked, but as life normalized, usage dropped. That left a lot of folks feeling like mobile is a “nice-to-have” that doesn’t deliver. 

There’s a second objection I’m hearing just as often in 2026: AI fatigue. Operators have sat through a year of every vendor at every trade show slapping “AI-powered” on the same features that existed two years ago. That noise has made people skeptical of anything, mobile included, that gets pitched with a buzzword instead of a business outcome.

When I dig into the resistance, here’s what I hear most: 

• It’s too expensive. 

• It’s hard to integrate with our current systems. 

• Staff don’t want to learn a new tool. 

• Members won’t use it – especially our older ones. 

• Data privacy is a concern. 

• And maybe the biggest one: “We already built an app and no one used it.” 

That last one stings. Because it’s real. 

But here’s what I tell operators every time: you can’t treat mobile like a Field of Dreams – build it and they will come. That’s not how mobile works in any industry. You have to drive adoption, make it part of the member experience, and treat it like the core infrastructure it can be. 

Let me walk you through what’s actually happening in other industries – and why those use cases should be shaping your mobile (and AI) strategy today.

Banking: From Branches to Behavior Change 

48.3% of U.S. households now use mobile banking as their primary way of accessing their accounts – more than branches, ATMs, or desktop (FDIC, 2024). Zoom out globally and the number gets even bigger: 4.2 billion people – 53% of the world’s population – are expected to be using digital banking by the end of 2026 (Juniper Research).

Mobile apps have also stopped being just a place to check a balance. They’ve become AI copilots. When I log into Bank of America, Erica – its built-in AI assistant – doesn’t just show me a transaction history. It flags overspending, predicts upcoming bills, and nudges me toward a budgeting decision before I’ve even asked. I don’t just bank on the app anymore – it manages my behavior.

Erica isn’t an outlier. 62% of digital banking platforms now support AI-powered tools like document scanning and real-time transaction analysis, and 70% integrate that AI directly with customer data to personalize the experience (banking AI adoption data).

What’s more, the global mobile banking market is projected to more than triple, from $1.87 trillion in 2025 to $6.42 trillion by 2033 (Straits Research), with banks reallocating staff from transaction-heavy teller roles into higher-value advisory and service positions.

Mobile, and the AI riding on top of it, made banking faster, more personal, and more profitable – for both the institution and the end user. 

Fitness can do the same. The parallel is simple: what if your app reminded members of their workout streak? Nudged them when they missed a session? Suggested a class based on their goals? Mobile, paired with AI, gives you leverage – to shape habits, not just track attendance.  

Investing: Mobile as the Great Equalizer 

When I was growing up, investing was for Wall Street. If you weren’t on the floor or working with a broker, you weren’t trading. 

Enter Robinhood. 

They took what was once complex and exclusive, and made it mobile, intuitive, and even gamified. They didn’t just digitize investing – they democratized it. 

Now, anyone can invest. And that explosion of retail investing has changed the entire landscape of the stock market. 

That same shift is happening again, this time with AI. The robo-advisory market is on track to grow from $13.07 billion in 2026 to $133.94 billion by 2035 (Global Growth Insights). And the model winning the most share it’s hybrid. Robo-advisors that blend algorithm-driven portfolios with human advisor oversight already account for more than 56% of the market (robo-advisory market data), because people want the efficiency of automation with a person to call when it matters. It’s resonating with the next generation of investors, too: more than 40% of Gen Z and Millennial investors say they’re open to AI playing a role in managing their money (Deloitte Global Gen Z and Millennial Survey).

Here’s why it matters for fitness: Robinhood didn’t grow just because of accessibility. It grew because it used mobile to change behaviors. Gamification. Push notifications. Real–time performance insights. These weren’t just features – they were behavior drivers. 

We can do the same. We can gamify consistency. Reward habits. Personalize nudges. This is how we turn passive members into active ones – and create long-term value beyond the four walls of your club. 

Grocery: Coupons, Loyalty, and the New Shopping Experience 

Let me take you back. 

When I was a kid, we’d sit on the kitchen floor, clipping coupons from the newspaper before heading to multiple stores – Mariano’s, Jewel – just to get the week’s best deals. 

That world is gone. 

Today, if you’re not using a grocery app, you’re missing the deals. Brands like Whole Foods, Walmart, and Mariano’s have shifted entirely to mobile-based pricing, loyalty, and promotion. 

In fact, mobile is no longer just part of grocery e-commerce; it’s most of it. 68.2% of digital grocery sales now happen on a phone, and 157.5 million Americans are expected to shop for groceries online in 2026 (Capital One Shopping, 2026). Online grocery overall has climbed to 20.5% of total U.S. grocery sales, up from just 12.5% in 2024 (Supermarket News), and households that use delivery are spending an average of $2,310 a year on it.

The next wave it’s predictive, AI-curated shopping. Apps are starting to build the cart before the customer opens it: reordering staples based on past purchases, surfacing substitutes before an item goes out of stock, and personalizing promotions in real time instead of blasting the same coupon to everyone.

That’s not just convenience – it’s habit formation, driven by: 

• Personalized discounts 

• Automated reminders 

• Loyalty rewards 

• Push notifications that drive return visits 

It’s not about replacing the store. It’s about enhancing the in–store experience. 

Sound familiar? 

This is what mobile and AI should be doing for fitness. It should deepen the in-club experience. Extend the brand beyond the facility. And drive additional visit frequency, loyalty, and spend – just like retail.  

What Fitness Operators Can Learn – Right Now 

Let’s connect the dots: 

• Banking used mobile to streamline operations and personalize guidance. 

• Investing used mobile, and now AI, to increase access and gamify behavior. 

• Retail used mobile to personalize loyalty and drive repeat visits. 

The fitness industry needs all three. 

And here’s what’s different from when this was first written: fitness isn’t waiting on the sidelines anymore. This isn’t a hypothetical.

61% of gym members are already using AI-driven fitness technology (Glofox, 2026). That adoption isn’t evenly spread: 64% of Gen Z members use it regularly, compared to just 17% of Boomers, but the direction is set. And for the third year running, ACSM ranked wearable technology the #1 fitness trend in the world for 2026 (ACSM).

We’re seeing it show up in outcomes, too. Clubs using app-based habit tracking are seeing roughly a 30% lift in member retention, and members logged more than 30 million habit completions across ABC platforms in 2025.

We’re also seeing it show up in our own product. ABC’s Front Desk Agent and Sales Agent are already live, handling member communication, bookings, and lead follow-up around the clock. Within two weeks of launch, 42% of workouts built by coaches on ABC Trainerize were AI-generated. And operators using Intelligent Billing are seeing payment collection rise by up to 25%.

We are in the behavior-change business. And behavior change doesn’t happen once a week. It happens every day – with frictionless touchpoints, smart nudges, and personalized experiences. 

That’s what mobile, powered by AI, delivers – if you do it right. 

But here’s the kicker: it’s not just about engagement. It’s also about efficiency and headcount leverage. A well-integrated mobile and AI strategy can reduce front–desk burden, automate scheduling and payments, streamline communication, and increase operational capacity without increasing cost.  

Mobile Isn’t a Feature. It’s a Business Strategy. 

If you’re an operator reading this and thinking, “We tried mobile, and it didn’t stick,” ask yourself: 

• Did we make it part of our onboarding? 

• Did we train staff to promote it with conviction? 

• Did we tie mobile usage to member outcomes? 

• Did we iterate and improve the app experience based on data? 

• Did we treat it like a critical business system – or a shiny add-on? 

The difference between a failed rollout and a mobile-powered business is not luck. It’s intentional design and consistent reinforcement.  

The Future of Fitness Will Be Mobile-Driven 

We’re still early in this transformation. That means there’s an opportunity for those willing to lead. 

If you want to create true habit formation, increase engagement, reduce costs, and extend your brand far beyond your walls, then mobile isn’t optional. 

It’s the strategy that will define the next decade of growth. 

So don’t wait for perfection. Don’t wait for guarantees. 

Start building your mobile muscle now – and you’ll be the one defining the member experience of the future. 

Ready to future-proof your fitness business?

See how ABC Fitness can help you turn mobile into your most powerful growth strategy.