Issue No. 399 of Fitt Insider tracked a pivotal move in connected fitness: Peloton acquired Pilates startup Skōp, doubling down on strength and longevity after shedding 218K hardware members last quarter, per the issue. Engagement with its mat Pilates content jumped 48% year over year, so it's chasing one of the fastest-growing modalities around.
The subtext is impossible to miss. Even category leaders bleed members, and new hardware alone doesn't stop it. What keeps people subscribed is engagement — the exact problem Cadoo was built to solve for fitness brands.
A crowded, consolidating reformer race
The issue laid out a category racing to add machines and members at once:
- Peloton entered the connected reformer market via Skōp after losing hundreds of thousands of hardware members, per Fitt Insider.
- iFIT acquired Reform RX and Technogym launched its own high-end reformer, per the issue, in an increasingly crowded field.
- barre3 published a study validating its mindful-fitness approach, while Bay Club kept consolidating racquet and health facilities, per Fitt Insider.
- ASICS launched a startup pitch program for sports and wellness, per the issue — more capital chasing the same engaged customer.
These are industry references, not Cadoo partners. But the shared lesson is stark: acquiring hardware and studios is easy; keeping members engaged is the hard part.
New machines don't fix churn — engagement does
Peloton's 218K-member drop is the whole industry's warning label. A smarter reformer or a new modality can spark a subscription, but it can't sustain one. Cadoo supplies the missing engagement layer.
Members bet money with friends on reaching fitness goals, so they keep coming back — not on willpower, but because friends and stakes are on the line. Recurring challenges fill the dead space between classes, the stretch where connected-fitness subscriptions quietly lapse. And it's measurable: the camera counts reps only. Steps and distance come from Apple Health or Google Health Connect, giving operators real engagement data instead of a login count.
Turning subscribers into promoters
For a connected-fitness brand or a consolidating studio operator, engagement is the metric that predicts whether a member renews. Cadoo lifts it while doubling as marketing: every finished challenge can produce a skinned, shareable video, so members promote your brand while they build the habit — cheaper and more credible than another acquisition campaign.
On our roadmap — not live yet — winnings could convert into credit or perks at your studio or brand, tying engagement directly to loyalty and repeat spend. See how it works at cadoo.games/brands, or reach the team at Tim@cadoo.io.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Peloton's member loss matter for the whole category?
Fitt Insider's Issue 399 reports Peloton shed 218K hardware members in a quarter even as it acquired a Pilates reformer startup. It shows that in connected fitness, new hardware and modalities attract members but don't keep them — retention depends on sustained engagement, not gear.
How does Cadoo reduce connected-fitness churn?
Cadoo runs recurring challenges that members stake money on with friends, giving a live, social reason to keep training between classes. That ongoing engagement is what separates a renewing subscriber from a lapsed one, which is the exact metric this issue shows leaders struggling with.
How does Cadoo measure engagement for an operator?
The camera counts reps only for supported movements, and steps and distance come from Apple Health or Google Health Connect. That gives connected-fitness and studio operators trustworthy engagement data rather than relying on app logins or class check-ins.
Can members redeem winnings at my studio or brand?
Converting winnings into credit or perks at a partner studio or brand is on our roadmap and not live yet. Today, Cadoo's value is lower churn, higher engagement, and shareable branded content created by your members.
