{"id":942738,"date":"2026-05-07T01:13:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T01:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/942738\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T01:13:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T01:13:15","slug":"66-of-first-time-climbing-gym-goers-never-return-heres-how-to-win-them-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/942738\/","title":{"rendered":"66% of first-time climbing gym goers never return. Here\u2019s how to win them back"},"content":{"rendered":"

For a first-time climbing gym goer, it can be\u00a0 tough to get into the groove.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At first, you\u2019re greeted with onerous waivers. Then you have to try on uncomfortable shoes that many people have already worn. And then, you\u2019re on your own to figure out what climbs you\u2019ll try, most of which are way, way too hard, and you don\u2019t understand what these strange V-things mean.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the most accessible thing to do.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s likely part of the reason why Cassim Ladha, the CEO of Griptonite, a climbing gym software company, found the \u201cchurn rate\u201d of gyms is quite high.\u00a0<\/p>\n

About 66% of all first-time climbers who enter a gym never return, according to Griptonite\u2019s findings. That\u2019s a sizable difference when compared with regular fitness gyms, which the company says lose first-time users at a rate of about 48%.<\/p>\n

As part of its research, Griptonite compiled data from over 100 interviews and found that a misalignment of expectations was a key culprit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have an expectation set by either Instagram or the gym or their friends\u2026[and] there\u2019s a misalignment,\u201d he told Gripped. \u201cThey end up disappointed in some way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Cassim Ladha, right, said his company found that a structured approach helps new climbers return.<\/p>\n

One trend?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people go, it seems\u2026go to the gym on a date,\u201d Ladha said. \u201cYou\u2019re trying to obviously look your best. There is, it seems, a huge setup for failure in this instance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flailing on a double digit boulder problem probably wasn\u2019t the intended romantic impression many were hoping for.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To this end, Ladha has some suggestions on how to draw newcomers back in.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most actionable step for any gym owner to take is to decrease the time it takes to actually start climbing something enjoyable.<\/p>\n

Ladha said structure is key. Many first-time gym-goers are given a small orientation, then left to flail around by themselves. This doesn\u2019t set them up for an enjoyable experience.<\/p>\n

An alternative approach would be to create an easy-to-follow gym circuit that beginners can immediately get started on, he said. For instance, several introductory routes could be placed throughout the gym so that beginners don\u2019t feel siloed off.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then, they can be numbered in the ascending order they should be completed. Small easter eggs can be placed on the routes, like a coupon for a free coffee, to keep people motivated.<\/p>\n

People will then have an immediate goal to work towards, and those keen to complete the circuit will have a reason to return.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s all about getting them to return.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they come for that second visit, I know that they\u2019re twice as likely to come for a third, so discount the second visit,\u201d Ladha said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an idea that he said gets results. Of the nearly 200 gyms on Griptonite, the Top 5 use a system akin to the one he described.<\/p>\n

Ladha said that it\u2019s key for gyms to start designing experiences that keep people returning.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you think of it like these funnels, you [can] put more people in the top of the funnel and accept 66% of them don\u2019t come back,\u201d he said. \u201cBut what\u2019s happened is, well, we\u2019ve been through everybody by now. It\u2019s going to take them two years to reevaluate. Or we do a refocus on the bottom of the funnel and try and get from [a] 66% [loss] to somewhere closer to the high forties [or] fifties, right?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For a first-time climbing gym goer, it can be\u00a0 tough to get into the groove.\u00a0 At first, you\u2019re…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":942739,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4322],"tags":[1123,1630,105,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-942738","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-featured","9":"tag-fitness","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116530643575821944","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=942738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/942739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=942738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=942738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=942738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}