Recently the development of new technologies has produced an increase in the number of studies that try to evaluate consumer behavior towards the use of sports applications. The aim of this study is to perform a systematic review of the literature on the intention to use mobile applications (Apps) related to fitness and physical activity by consumers. This systematic review is a critical evaluation of the evidence from quantitative studies in the field of assessment of consumer behavior towards sport applications. A total of 13 studies are analyzed that propose models for evaluating the intentions to use fitness applications by sport consumers. The results revealed several key conclusions: (a) Technology Acceptance Model is the most widely used model; (b) the relationship between perceived utility and future intentions is the most analyzed; and (c) the most evaluated applications are diet/fitness. These findings could help technology managers to know the most important key elements to take into account in the development of future applications in sport organizations.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse the intention of using fitness app made available by the fitness centre to its members and their relationship with overall customer satisfaction.Design/methodology/approach: The present study uses the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) as the base model. All the hypothesised relationships were tested through partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), in a quantitative study with data from 1,676 fitness consumers from Portugal.Findings: The results support the ability of UTAUT2 in predicting the customer´s intention to use the fitness app. Performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation and habit have a positive impact on behavioural intentions to use the fitness app. Performance expectancy and habit have the strongest relationships. Behavioural intentions are positively related both to the usage behaviour of the fitness app and to overall customer satisfaction.Practical implications: The results of this study present a strong contribution for fitness centre managers, since it highlights the importance of using these apps as a way to increase customer satisfaction, increasing retention levels.Originality/value: This study is paramount as regards to examine the behavioural intention to use the fitness apps that the fitness centres make available to their members using UTAUT2 model.

A number of studies have placed at the forefront variables that predict the loyalty of clients in fitness centres. In fact, no study has analysed the differences between these variables according to business models. The objective of this study was to analyse the relationship between quality, value, satisfaction and the future intentions of clients of public and private low-cost fitness centres and their differences. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of 1805 fitness centre clients. A confirmatory factor analysis and multi-group analysis was performed to test the difference between two invariance models. The findings indicate a greater weight in facilities and employees of the quality perceived from private low-cost fitness centres and a greater weight in programmes from public fitness centres. Furthermore, the relationship between the variables’ overall quality, perceived value, satisfaction and future intentions had a greater influence in private low-cost fitness centres than in public centres.

The eruption of technology has revolutionized the sports sector, incorporating new elements and new forms, and has therefore targeted sports activities. The inclusion of virtual fitness classes is leading to an increase in the offers available to consumers, expanding the hours that consumers can exercise and leading to a greater variability of customer services. The present study intends to go deeper into the knowledge of the fitness center sector in the Spanish context by evaluating the poorly analyzed area of directed activities, either with a teacher or in a virtual mode, and how these are perceived by the users of the centers. The sample consisted of a total of 1943 users, 1143 of whom were customers who conducted fitness activities directed by instructors, and 800 questionnaires were completed by customers who conducted virtual fitness activities in fitness centers classified as low-cost, medium, and boutique business models. The relationships between service experience, service convenience, satisfaction, and future intentions were analyzed. The results show positive relationships in all the variables studied in the instructor fitness classes. However, they are not significant in some variables studied involving virtual fitness classes.

The fitness sector has always been linked to the analysis of the loyalty of its consumers. Different studies have shown the importance of sports service and human resources for greater customer loyalty. However, few works have studied how the physical environment or servicescape influences the behavior of consumers in fitness centers based on gender and age. Therefore, the objective of the study was to analyze the relationship between servicescape and the loyalty of fitness center consumers, analyzing through the Importance-Performance Matrix Analysis (IPMA) what the aspects to improve according to gender and age are. The sample was 10,368 fitness center customers (5864 women and 4504 men). After the IPMA, it was concluded that the main improvement margins in general in fitness centers were the equipment and the facility condition, and the facility layout. In turn, in relation to gender and age, the aspects with room for improvement were to a greater extent for equipment and facility condition in women over 21 years of age, and in facility layout for women between 21 and 40 years old and 51–60 years old. Regarding men, the aspects with the highest performance margins were the equipment and facility condition in all the age groups, the facility layout in men up to 50 years old, and the signage in men up to 40 years old and from 51 to 60 years old.