According to Dolphin Research, a domestic market research institution, they recently released an Analysis Report on the Development Prospects and Investment Strategy of the Chinese Sports and Fitness App. The report shows that by the end of 2022, Keep (03650) has become the industry leader with a market share of 32.5%.
The report surveyed various indicators of the sports and fitness app market, including market size, growth rate, market share of industry leaders, and industry policies.
The report shows that Xiaomi, Gudong, LeDongLi, and Xiaomi are the top four players in the industry. By the end of 2022, among the top companies in the sports and fitness app industry in China, Keep ranked first with a market share of 32.5%, Gudong ranked second with a market share of 22.8%, LeDongLi ranked third with a market share of 17.5%, and Xiaomi Sports ranked fourth with a market share of 13.2%. Other companies accounted for 14.0% of the market share, ranking fifth in the industry.
The report points out that the sports and fitness app industry in China is currently maintaining a rapid growth momentum. By the end of 2022, the user base of the sports and fitness app industry in China reached 480 million, a year-on-year growth of 12.8%. The market size of the sports and fitness app industry in China reached 13.067 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 20.3%. The number of active users reached 350 million, a year-on-year growth of 10.5%. The number of paid users reached 120 million, a year-on-year growth of 15.2%. The ARPU value reached 36 yuan, a year-on-year growth of 12.8%.
The following is the full text of the Analysis Report on the Development Prospects and Investment Strategy of the Chinese Sports and Fitness App:
Definition of the Sports and Fitness App Industry
The sports and fitness app is a type of mobile application that helps users with fitness exercises, recording fitness data, and managing fitness plans by providing related functions and services. These applications usually include fitness plans, fitness videos, fitness check-ins, fitness communities, and other functions to meet various needs of users during the fitness process. The emergence of sports and fitness apps allows users to exercise anytime, anywhere, and also brings new business models and development opportunities to the fitness industry.
Classification of the Sports and Fitness App Industry
Sports and fitness apps can be classified into pedometer apps, fitness course apps, health management apps, and social interaction apps. Pedometer apps mainly record users' exercise data to help them understand their exercise situation. Fitness course apps provide various fitness courses for users to choose from according to their needs. Health management apps not only provide fitness functions but also offer health management features to help users comprehensively manage their health. Social interaction apps emphasize social interaction, allowing users to communicate and share fitness experiences, participate in fitness challenges, and more within the app.
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Development History of the Sports and Fitness App Industry
During the exploration period (2010-2013), the sports and fitness app industry was in its early stages with a small number of applications and simple functionalities, mainly focused on recording users' exercise data. During the growth period (2014-2017), with the popularity of smartphones and the development of mobile internet, the sports and fitness app industry began to rapidly expand. The number of applications and functionalities greatly increased, and many distinctive applications such as Keep and Fitbit emerged. In the maturity period (2018-present), the sports and fitness app industry has entered a mature stage. The number of applications and functionalities has become more abundant, and market competition has become more intense. Many applications have started to explore new business models, such as fitness social networking and paid fitness content, to enhance user engagement and profitability.
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Current Status of the Sports and Fitness App Industry
The pandemic has rekindled people's attention to health, and the general public's health awareness and exercise habits are undergoing a transformation, leading to active participation in sports and fitness activities. Smart fitness applications continue to enrich and optimize their content and functionalities, tirelessly addressing two key issues for users during their fitness journey: getting started and staying motivated. The sports and fitness app industry is continuously evolving in the field of smart fitness to meet the growing demands of users.
Upstream, Midstream, and Downstream of the Sports and Fitness App Industry
The upstream of the sports and fitness app industry mainly includes hardware devices and software development. Hardware devices include smart wristbands, smartwatches, smart scales, etc., which help users track exercise and health data. Software development includes app development, website development, etc., which assist users in managing exercise data, providing fitness courses, and health management services. The downstream application industries of the sports and fitness app industry mainly include fitness, health management, social interaction, etc.
<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://img.zhitongcaijing.com/image/20230920/1695184108662205.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="image.png" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://img.zhitongcaijing.com/image/20230920/1695184108662205.png"/>
Market Size and Growth Rate of the Sports and Fitness App Industry in China
In 2020, the market size of the sports and fitness app industry in China reached 10.56 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth rate of 25.5%. The market size of the fitness population reached 120 million people, with a year-on-year growth rate of 15.4%.
As of the end of 2022, the user base of China's sports and fitness app industry reached 480 million people, a year-on-year growth of 12.8%. The market size of China's sports and fitness app industry reached 13.067 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 20.3%. The number of active users reached 350 million people, a year-on-year growth of 10.5%. The number of paid users reached 120 million people, a year-on-year growth of 15.2%. The ARPU value reached 36 yuan, a year-on-year growth of 12.8%. It is expected that in the coming years, with the improvement of health awareness and the popularity of mobile internet, the market size of China's sports and fitness app industry will continue to grow rapidly.
<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://img.zhitongcaijing.com/image/20230920/1695184147178314.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="image.png" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://img.zhitongcaijing.com/image/20230920/1695184147178314.png"/>
As of the end of 2022, among the leading companies in China's sports and fitness app industry, Keep ranked first with a market share of 32.5%, Gu Dong ranked second with a market share of 22.8%, Le Dong Li ranked third with a market share of 17.5%, and Xiaomi Sports ranked fourth with a market share of 13.2%. Other companies ranked fifth with a market share of 14.0%.
<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://img.zhitongcaijing.com/image/20230920/1695184172308346.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="image.png" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://img.zhitongcaijing.com/image/20230920/1695184172308346.png"/>
Policies in the Sports and Fitness App Industry
At the national level, policies mainly include the &#34;National Fitness Plan (2016-2020)&#34; and the &#34;Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Development of Fitness and Leisure Industry,&#34; aiming to promote the development of national fitness and the fitness and leisure industry. At the local level, policies mainly include the fitness industry development plans and fitness venue construction plans issued by local governments, aiming to promote the development of local fitness industry and improve residents' fitness awareness and level.
<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://img.zhitongcaijing.com/image/20230920/1695184210711418.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="image.png" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://img.zhitongcaijing.com/image/20230920/1695184210711418.png"/>
Issues in the Sports and Fitness App Industry
As of the end of 2021, Douyin launched the &#34;DOU Movement Plan&#34; and in 2022, the &#34;Douyin National Fitness Plan&#34; to attract more viewers to participate in fitness activities. Douyin has fully utilized its platform advantages and successfully attracted a large number of users to engage in the fitness field.
At the same time, Keep has accumulated seven years of experience in the fitness field, with 30 million monthly active users. On Douyin, Liu Guanhong gained 60 million fans in less than a month. The rise of Douyin Live has opened up a new field for online fitness and undoubtedly become one of the alternative fitness apps that consumers may choose. Although there are many fitness apps, most of them lack substantial differences and innovative features, leading to homogenization in the industry. This makes most products to some extent interchangeable and increases the intensity of competition. Keep needs to continue to innovate and improve in order to gain a foothold in the highly homogenized market.
Prediction of the Development Prospects of the Sports and Fitness App Industry
In the past five years, China's fitness industry has made significant progress, with a population proportion of people who regularly participate in sports reaching 33.9% of the total population. Such a large number of people participating in fitness activities has led to a continuous increase in the demand for fitness guidance, especially in first-tier and second-tier cities. The rapid development of smartphone technology has achieved the perfect integration of GPS positioning, data interconnection, and high-performance CPUs, allowing fitness enthusiasts to enjoy professional fitness app guidance with just a mobile phone. The integration of these technologies on mobile phones allows users to make full use of their free time for exercise, eliminating the need to hire professional fitness trainers at the gym. Users can record exercise data at any time, making their fitness plans more systematic, and they can also share data with friends and compete for rankings, providing social interaction value. All of this makes exercise more convenient and intelligent, and it is predicted that sports and fitness apps will continue to have tremendous development potential in the future.

As of the end of 2022, Keep has become the industry leader with a market share of 32.5%.

Institution Releases 2022 Market Share of Sports APP Industry: Keep, Gudong, and LeDongLi Rank Top Three