The launch comes as the fitness industry shows strong growth signals despite persistent operational challenges. According to the 2025 US Health & Fitness Consumer Report, the sector now serves 77 million Americans with memberships at fitness facilities, while revenue across fitness and wellness grew 9.9% year-over-year.
However, profitability remains elusive for many operators. Industry data shows that while membership dues account for 76.5% of revenue, payroll expenses consume 38.4% of total revenue, with average EBITDA margins of just 23.6%. Member retention stands at 66.4%, meaning operators must constantly refill their sales pipelines to maintain growth.
“The math is challenging for gym owners,” said Tony Small, founder and CEO of Replify. “They’re seeing strong top-line growth, but labor and operational costs are eating into margins. Meanwhile, 25% of consumers now belong to multiple facilities, and emerging formats like pickleball, which has doubled in participation, and Pilates, up 8%, are fragmenting the market. Operators need to work harder than ever to capture and retain members.”
Small estimates that fitness facilities lose 40-60% of potential members simply due to slow or inconsistent lead follow-up. We informally surveyed hundreds of gym operators and found that the average facility receives 50-100 inquiries per week but only converts 10-15% into memberships. The primary failure point isn’t the sales pitch, it’s speed to contact and consistency of follow-up.”
Replify’s AI Growth Engine automates this process. Gym operators connect their lead databases, configure outbound sequences across phone, SMS, and email channels, and the AI system executes campaigns at scale. The platform integrates with existing CRM and gym management software systems.
Early traction with multi-location fitness & recreation operators, Club 24 Concept Gyms, a seven-location operator, now processes over 3,000 automated outbound calls monthly through the platform. “The ROI calculation was straightforward,” said Val Nepomuceno, Director of Operations of Club 24 Concept Gyms. “We were spending roughly thousands per month per location in staff hours for follow-up calls. Replify handles the initial outreach and qualification, existing member outreach, including billing follow-up, so our sales team only talks to warm leads. We’ve cut our cost per acquisition by 35% while increasing our contact rate by 60%.”
UFC Gym has deployed the system for SMS campaigns across multiple locations. National chains Gold’s Gym, Zoom Tan, and Arena Sports are also implementing the technology across their locations.
Replify was founded in 2023 by Small, Spencer Rascoff (CEO of Match Group and co-founder of Zillow), and Anna Rodriguez (CTO). The company originally launched as heyLibby before rebranding to Replify in November 2025.
The company’s pricing model, which, as of publication, has no setup fees or long-term contracts, aims to lower barriers to AI adoption among gym operators who are often wary of expensive software implementations.
With 32% of consumers now participating in small group training and boutique fitness concepts continuing to proliferate, gym and fitness operators face mounting competitive pressure. The automation of lead management and member engagement with AI represents one lever operators can pull without expanding physical footprint or turning to call center outsourcing.
“Fitness businesses provide an incredible service to their communities, but the operations are capital, labor, and time-intensive,” Small said. “Customer service, sales, maintenance, cleaning, it never stops. AI won’t replace the personal relationships trainers and in-person staff build with members, but it can handle the administrative burden that prevents growth.”
AI Growth Engine is currently available to existing Replify customers on custom plans. Gym and fitness operators interested in the platform can schedule demonstrations at Replify.ai.
Industry data sourced from The 2025 US Health & Fitness Consumer Report: Expanded Insights
Media Contact
Nate Corliss, Replify, 1 206-231-5978, [email protected], https://www.replify.ai
Twitter, LinkedIn
SOURCE Replify
link