The product under focus of this paper is a resistance band. The analysis of the resistance bands market is conducted at the national level. Before February 2020, the average price was 5 dollars for a three-meter long resistance band, while the overall market size was worth 712.8 million $ (Resistance bands market size, n.d.). Before the pandemic, the market was not in equilibrium, since the there was a product surplus. The pandemic-related restrictions have led to the sudden consumer interest towards home fitness equipment and resistance bands in particular.
Once the lockdowns began, the situation changed rapidly, as people were forced to find alternatives to gyms. Randle (2020) reported in his article a sudden shortage of fitness equipment, which included resistance bands. The first explanation is that people who regularly attended gyms needed to maintain their physical form, and resistance bands allow working out with intensity comparable to gym equipment. Second, quarantined people were advised to exercise, and the resistance bands were cheap and accessible. Ultimately, the lockdown, which closed all gyms and forced people to stay at home was the specific event that precipitated the upsurge in demand.
Although the government did not directly regulate the resistance band market specifically, its lockdown policies did influence it. Joffe (2020) reported a story about a gym owner being “charged with five misdemeanors for being open during the state’s shutdown orders” (para. 1). Naturally, the government did not target fitness equipment itself, but the increase in demand for alternatives to gym equipment was anticipated. Unable to visit gyms, people started to buy more resistance bands, which unsurprisingly led to the expansion of the market.
The period between February and August 2020 was marked by a sharp increase in the demand for resistance bands. Business Wire reported that sales of fitness equipment grew by 170% (Fitness equipment sales grow by 170%, 2020). Two changes were observed during this period, the first one of which was the greater availability of resistance band due to the quick production process. The second change was the expansion of sales of resistance bands on online retail services. Combined with the governmental shutdown of sport facilities, people used the only available option left to continue workouts – do them at home.
Even though strict lockdown measures were lifted, the demand for resistance bands remained. The current market size for resistance band is over 200 million $ (Resistance bands market size, n.d.). Given the new-found popularity of home workouts, the demand for bands has remained. The only relevant policy that was implemented was that the government allowed sport facilities to reopen, but it did not reduce the demand for resistance bands. Instead, the market is now in equilibrium due to more people doing home workouts.
Altogether, it is evident that the pandemic has positively impacted the resistance bands market. If before the pandemic, the market size was 712.8 million $, now it worth more than 200 million $. Governmental shutdown of gyms had an indirect impact on the growth of home fitness equipment. The governmental response was ideal for the producers of resistance bands, because more people became aware of them and bought their products. Had the government decided not to close gyms, resistance bands suppliers would not have gained a sizable part of the consumer base, who preferred gym workouts.
References
Fitness equipment sales grow by 170% during coronavirus lockdown. (2020).
Joffe, M. (2020). How government-mandated gym closures hurt public health and the economy. Reason Foundation.
Randle, A. (2020). New York City’s kettlebell shortage: ‘People are kind of freaking out’. The New York Times.
Resistance bands market size | Global industry report, 2019-2025. (n.d.).