Latest findings on sector's digital maturity revealed

We and ukactive have today released the Digital Futures 2024 report, marking a successful fourth year of the consultation.

The report provides a measure of how the UK sport and physical activity sector – including fitness and leisure operators, national governing bodies, active partnerships, sports clubs and other providers – is embracing digital and the next steps required for growth.

This year saw 117 eligible UK fitness, leisure and sport organisations complete the consultation, representing 1,600 sites and around four million members nationwide.

The results show an increase in the number of organisations using the latest artificial intelligence (AI) in day-to-day operations (up 3% from 2023), with more saying they plan to use AI in the future.

Overall, the average score for digital maturity and effectiveness among the surveyed UK organisations was 51% – an increase of 4% from 2023. 

This level (40-59%) is defined as ‘Digital Experimenter’, typically meaning that operators are making great strides forward but missing the investment, goal alignment and rapid advances to yield a strong performance.

But the figures show there's insufficient prioritisation of digital among many participants, with the authors recommending that this year’s participants follow those that have engaged in the programme since its inception, of which 63% have a comprehensive strategy.

Our strategic lead for innovation and digital, Allison Savich, said: "Four years ago, the sector didn't have a baseline on its digital maturity.

"By adapting the Digital Futures approach and reflecting on what we are learning each year, we are now at a place where we can see clear trends and focus areas for the future.

"These trends will enable us to create even more bespoke support for the sector, based on levels of maturity. 

"The importance of understanding your digital maturity is clear: for those organisations who have reassessed over multiple years, they are seeing greater progress in their digital transformation journeys. 

"So we encourage any organisation who has not yet assessed their digital maturity to simply start by undertaking the survey."

Getting the foundations right

The report recommends organisations continue to focus on developing a comprehensive digital strategy aligned with their overall business goals.

Having a comprehensive digital strategy will give organisations the opportunity to leverage data and insights for growth.

Our sector needs to prioritise investment in data infrastructure and data and digital skills, else we risk falling behind other sectors (e.g. charities).

For example, AI requires high-quality data foundations – both skills and infrastructure – to be successfully implemented to drive value.
 

Since 2021, when the Digital Futures programme began, 295 organisations have completed the consultation, which was designed and conducted by the agency Rewrite Digital.

But we know operators are at different stages of their maturity journey – with some saying they're unable to prioritise improvement due to competing priorities, while others are yet to start. 

Today’s report is supported by ukactive’s strategic partners Gladstone, EGYM and Technogym, and its contribution partners Leisure Labs, Xn Leisure, PerfectGym, Zoom Media, Keepme and Endurance Zone.

Dave Gerrish, strategic lead for digital at ukactive, said: "The fourth year of our Digital Futures programme shows the steady progress our sector has made in using digital effectively to better operate facilities and welcome even more people through the doors.

"As we enter the next phase of the programme, we’re starting to see the benefits for operators using the insights from the consultation and index tool to enhance their digital maturity and consequent growth in their operations and services.

"We’re looking forward to welcoming more operators on board to progress their digital strategies and supporting even more people to get active."