The connected fitness equipment market shows no sign of cooling in 2025, with several Peloton competitors accelerating international expansion. Tonal recently announced its entry into the UK and German markets, bringing its wall-mounted smart strength system to European consumers for the first time. Meanwhile, Hydrow is targeting Australia and Canada, betting that rowing's low-impact appeal translates across cultures.
Industry analysts at McKinsey Value predict the global smart home gym market will reach $18.4 billion by 2027, up from $11.2 billion in 2023, driven largely by AI-integrated equipment and hybrid membership models. The post-pandemic correction that saw Peloton shed 80% of its peak valuation appears to have bottomed out—the company returned to positive free cash flow in Q4 2024.
What's shifting the landscape isn't just hardware. Subscription fatigue is real; consumers now expect equipment to deliver value without locking them into $40/month commitments forever. Brands like Speediance and Vitruvian are gaining traction by offering one-time-purchase smart strength trainers with optional (not mandatory) app tiers.
Retail channels are adapting too. Best Buy reported a 23% YoY increase in fitness equipment floor space allocation, while Dick's Sporting Goods expanded its "House of Sport" concept to include demo-heavy fitness zones. The takeaway: consumers still want to touch before they buy a $2,500 machine.
For manufacturers, the next battleground is interoperability. Apple's FitnessKit API updates now allow third-party treadmills and bikes to sync native with Apple Fitness+, signaling a move away from closed ecosystems. Expect 2026 to be the year "works with everyone" becomes a selling point, not an afterthought.
