SINGAPORE — Movement restrictions and precautions against Covid-19 have kept many people at home, but these have only driven people to pay more attention to their physical health. As the new year approaches, Milieu Insight released the results of their ‘2022 Resolutions and Spending’ study of N=6000 people across Southeast Asia (N=1000 respondents each from Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia). The study aims to find out spending intentions in 2022 and the types of fitness products that they want to spend on.
According to the study, 62% of Southeast Asians indicated that their resolutions for 2022 include keeping fit, which is also the most voted option. Intention to keep fit is highest in Singapore (72%) and Thailand (70%).
Spending on fitness products is likely to be higher compared to this year, with more people indicating that they intend to spend on these products in 2022, compared to those who said that they have made such purchases this year.
Additionally, 44% of those who intend to spend on personal fitness in 2022 indicated that they are likely to spend more compared to this year, and the highest among the six countries are Vietnam (53%) and Indonesia (52%).
Some of the most highly sought-after fitness products and services are personal fitness devices/gadgets such as fitness watches (46%), fitness equipment (45%), and gym memberships (41%). At the same time, 41% also indicated that they intend to spend on fitness apps – with the Covid-19 situation still uncertain, especially in light of the new variant Omicron, many people are still exercising caution and keeping activities indoors.
On the other hand, those who want to keep fit but do not intend to spend or will be spending less on personal fitness next year cite preference for free resources (44%) and activities such as jogging (67%) as top reasons, as well as decreased financial capability (30%).
Commenting on the study’s findings, Gerald Ang, CEO of Milieu Insight, said, “Over the past two years, how the world approached health and fitness has drastically changed, and now as countries progressively ease restrictions, people are likely to be expecting more freedom to catch up with what they have missed or neglected. As the new year approaches, we can expect a new wave of trends to take over the fitness landscape. While at-home workouts are here to stay, the overall approach to wellness has shifted: Not only are people focusing their efforts on how they work out, but also why. And, as technology continues to evolve, many are beginning to take more holistic approaches to their overall wellness, extending beyond just their physical health.’’
Methodology of the study
The “2022 Resolutions and Spending” survey was conducted via Milieu’s proprietary survey community in Singapore (N=1000), Thailand (N=1000), Indonesia (N=1000), Malaysia (N=1000), Vietnam (N=1000), and The Philippines (N=1000), in November 2021.
