THE SIDELINE › PRICING · 4 MIN READ
Lift the top. Open a lower door.
Lift the top. Open a lower door.
Lift the top. Open a lower door.
Same members, season on season: what really happened when clubs raised their prices.
Same members, season on season: what really happened when clubs raised their prices.
Same members, season on season: what really happened when clubs raised their prices.
Cost pressure makes price rises feel dangerous. One in five members is telling us money is tight, so surely the last thing a club should do is charge more. That is the instinct. Here is the test.
Cost pressure makes price rises feel dangerous. One in five members is telling us money is tight, so surely the last thing a club should do is charge more. That is the instinct. Here is the test.
Cost pressure makes price rises feel dangerous. One in five members is telling us money is tight, so surely the last thing a club should do is charge more. That is the instinct. Here is the test.
We matched 39,363 members we spoke to in both of the last two seasons, the same people year on year, and compared clubs that lifted their prices, typically by 15 to 30 per cent, with clubs that held.
We matched 39,363 members we spoke to in both of the last two seasons, the same people year on year, and compared clubs that lifted their prices, typically by 15 to 30 per cent, with clubs that held.
We matched 39,363 members we spoke to in both of the last two seasons, the same people year on year, and compared clubs that lifted their prices, typically by 15 to 30 per cent, with clubs that held.
What actually happened
What actually happened
Willingness to buy softened everywhere. That is the squeeze, and it is real. But it softened only about half as much at the clubs that lifted prices, the higher amounts banked just as reliably, and revenue per sales attempt finished about 20 per cent ahead of the clubs that held. Members responded as supporters, not shoppers. They carried the higher prices without blinking.
Willingness to buy softened everywhere. That is the squeeze, and it is real. But it softened only about half as much at the clubs that lifted prices, the higher amounts banked just as reliably, and revenue per sales attempt finished about 20 per cent ahead of the clubs that held. Members responded as supporters, not shoppers. They carried the higher prices without blinking.
Willingness to buy softened everywhere. That is the squeeze, and it is real. But it softened only about half as much at the clubs that lifted prices, the higher amounts banked just as reliably, and revenue per sales attempt finished about 20 per cent ahead of the clubs that held. Members responded as supporters, not shoppers. They carried the higher prices without blinking.
The other half of the move
The other half of the move
The lift was never the whole play. The same clubs kept a genuinely small entry point open alongside it: an option around the thirty dollar mark, offered only after a genuine no, and only where a payment plan was not the right fit. That small entry is pure recovery. Those members were otherwise leaving with nothing, and where it was offered, recovery of refusals ran two to four times higher.
The lift was never the whole play. The same clubs kept a genuinely small entry point open alongside it: an option around the thirty dollar mark, offered only after a genuine no, and only where a payment plan was not the right fit. That small entry is pure recovery. Those members were otherwise leaving with nothing, and where it was offered, recovery of refusals ran two to four times higher.
The lift was never the whole play. The same clubs kept a genuinely small entry point open alongside it: an option around the thirty dollar mark, offered only after a genuine no, and only where a payment plan was not the right fit. That small entry is pure recovery. Those members were otherwise leaving with nothing, and where it was offered, recovery of refusals ran two to four times higher.
Why this is not a contradiction
Why this is not a contradiction
Four in five members are not price-blocked. The one in five who are stretched do not need a cheaper price list for everyone. They need flexibility aimed at them. An across-the-board price response gives relief mostly to members who never asked for it; a targeted one puts help exactly where the squeeze is, at full value. Lift the top for the many. Keep a small, dignified rung for the squeezed. Better net yield for the club, and a kinder path for the members who need one.
Four in five members are not price-blocked. The one in five who are stretched do not need a cheaper price list for everyone. They need flexibility aimed at them. An across-the-board price response gives relief mostly to members who never asked for it; a targeted one puts help exactly where the squeeze is, at full value. Lift the top for the many. Keep a small, dignified rung for the squeezed. Better net yield for the club, and a kinder path for the members who need one.
Four in five members are not price-blocked. The one in five who are stretched do not need a cheaper price list for everyone. They need flexibility aimed at them. An across-the-board price response gives relief mostly to members who never asked for it; a targeted one puts help exactly where the squeeze is, at full value. Lift the top for the many. Keep a small, dignified rung for the squeezed. Better net yield for the club, and a kinder path for the members who need one.
The full picture, charts and playbook are in our insight paper, The Squeeze and the Scarf.
The full picture, charts and playbook are in our insight paper, The Squeeze and the Scarf.
Get the paper